How They Shine
by BeautifulInsanity13
Summary: A young girl with a foggy past in her journey to knighthood, trying to find her place in this world when she doesn't even know where she came from. Completely rewritten.
1. Beginnings

**A/N: Okay, so I know that I messed with Tamora Pierce's timeline in a big way while writing this, completely not taking into account Alanna and George's children, and probably massively messing up with which generation is which, but in the end, I don't think it matters that much, really. The plot stays the same. Ish.**

Alanna of Trebond and Olau sat on the wall of Pirate's Swoop, watching the sun set over the water. She sighed, enjoying this quiet moment in her hectic life. She heard someone come out onto the deck, and then her lover, Baron George Cooper of Pirates' Swoop, came to stand behind her.

"It's beautiful, isn't it?" she said.

"Nearly as beautiful as you," he said, sitting down beside her. She smiled at him and he gave her a quick kiss. Then she just leaned against him as they watched the sun sink lower and lower, seeming to go into the ocean. Just as the last bit of the red sun disappeared under the water, the sky flashed a brilliant white. The lovers jumped to their feet, drawing swords. The last time they had seen that, it was because the Divine Realms were opening to let creatures through. They looked around. "Look there!" George said, pointing into the sky. Alanna squinted and saw something slowly falling towards them in a blur of pale silver. They watched it fall, alert for a trap, or a trick, alert for danger of _some_ kind. But as the object fell closer, they saw that it was a person, a very small person, gliding slowly downwards. Finally, the figure landed, awkwardly, falling over.

As it stood, they saw that it was indeed a child, a small girl, maybe three years old. She had dark brown curls falling over her shoulders and down her back, and slightly tan skin. She was wearing a loose dress of palest silver, more like a piece of cloth wrapped around her a couple of times and tied clumsily over her shoulder. The dress fell to her knees, revealing the girl's bare feet. She looked up at them defiantly, pushing her hair out of her eyes. George started. Her eyes were a brilliant, gleaming amber color. Alanna, however, knelt down.

"Who are you?" she asked the child. "Where did you come from?"

The little girl just looked at Alanna for a moment. Then she said. "Kyarri." She said it with the voice of a regular small child, who hadn't quite mastered a language yet. Then, she sat down and began to cry. Hesitantly, Alanna walked over to her and drew the girl, Kyarri, into her arms, talking to her, trying to soothe her. Eventually, the girl cried herself out and fell asleep in Alanna's arms. Alanna looked up at George, who was watching her and the girl.

"What now?" he asked.

Alanna looked down at the child in her arms. "We put her to bed. I'll look after her for tonight. After that…I don't know. I'll figure it out later. What I'm wondering is where did she come from?"

George looked at Alanna for a minute, and then pointed at the sky, deadpan. Alanna grinned a little. "George, I swear, if I didn't have her in my arms, I'd swat you right now. You _know _what I meant."

"I don't know, lass. Maybe we'll ask Numair, he'd find it fascinating. I'll ride over there first thing in the morning. Meanwhile, we should all go to bed." Alanna nodded and got up, careful not to jostle the sleeping girl, and went inside through the door George held open for her.

The next morning, Alanna woke in George's bed. He himself was gone, but a flower sat on his pillow, where she saw it when she opened her eyes. She smiled to herself as she sat up, sniffing the flower's sweet scent. Then she remembered the girl.

She got out of bed and pulled on her clothes, then went into the small room next door where she had left the girl. She opened the door quietly, in case the girl was still sleeping, and slipped inside. She saw that the girl, Kyarri, she'd said, was not sleeping. Instead, she sat in the open window, on the wide ledge, looking out at the sea, combing her fingers through her hair and singing quietly. Alanna listened, trying to see if she knew the song.

The girl's voice was eerily beautiful, and sang words in a different language, one that Alanna didn't know. The sound sent chills up Alanna's spine. The song trailed off and Kyarri turned around to look pleadingly at Alanna. "Hungry," she said. Alanna laughed. Whatever this girl was, she at least was human enough. The woman walked over to the child, who raised her arms, the universal signal for 'pick me up'. Alanna complied, lifting the child and balancing her on her hip. She was surprised by how light she was. Even though the girl was young and slender, she should weigh more than that. But no, she was well-fed enough, her bones weren't sticking out or anything. Alanna wondered at this as she carried the girl down to the kitchens. The cook looked surprised to see the child, and no wonder.

Alanna didn't know what the girl would eat, so she asked the cook for some fruit, a bit of bread and cheese, and some almond cakes, as well as a mug of tea for herself. In just a couple of minutes, the cook brought a tray to the door with everything Alanna had asked for, and a cup of water. Alanna thanked her, then took the tray to the deck outside, where she took her tea every morning, preferring not to eat breakfast. She sat Kyarri down at the small table with the food in front of her, then Alanna sat in another chair and watched the girl. Kyarri wolfed down the fruit, then the bread and cheese. She stopped when she got to the almond cakes, drizzled with honey, sniffing them curiously. She picked one up and took a careful little bite. She chewed it and swallowed, then took another. "Yum." She said, and Alanna laughed again. By now, she was pretty sure the child was harmless, if not entirely human. Kyarri ate both of her almond cakes, then drank some of her water. When she finished, she started to get down out of her chair. Alanna saw that the girl had honey all over her face and hands. She picked up the child, then got a damp cloth. She wiped the honey off of her face, then grabbed one of the girl's hands, and began to wipe it. Then she stopped.

"Goddess," she breathed. The girl had silver fingernails, like the silver claws of the Immortals. She looked at the girl's other hand, then her feet. All her nails were the same bright silver. She and George must have missed it last night, in the dim light. She looked at the little girl. "What are you?" she asked. Kyarri just looked at her with those golden eyes, puzzled. Alanna shook her head and finished cleaning the girl.

"Down," Kyarri commanded. Alanna placed her gently on the floor. Kyarri walked out of the room, with a kind of grace and coordination that even Alanna, with her limited experience with children, knew was strange for a child her age. Alanna followed. The little girl wandered through the castle, looking at everything with a vague air of curiosity. Alanna followed, as they made their way from room to room. As the child peered over the back of the sofa in the drawing room, Alanna heard voices outside. She looked out the window to see riders, her husband and Numair, clattering into the yard. Alanna held out her hand to Kyarri. The little girl reached up and took it, and they made their way downstairs and outside.

Hours later, Numair, George, and Alanna sat, once again, on the deck, watching Kyarri. The girl sat on a blanket that had been laid out for her, playing with a rag doll that one of the maids brought her. She looked for all the world like a normal little girl, not at all like she'd dropped unexpectedly from the sky, and had eyes and nails like an immortal. Numair ran his fingers through his hair. "I just don't know." He said for the hundredth time. "I just don't understand it."

"It's okay Numair. Maybe Daine will know something." Alanna soothed her friend. "You said she was coming soon, right?"

"Yes, she just had some business to clear up with Tkaa; she'll be here any time now." Numair said distractedly. He was staring off into the distance now, his mind clearly puzzling through the enigma that was Kyarri. Just then, Daine herself came through the doorway. She was a young woman, about seventeen, with smoky brown curls and blue eyes. She came over and sat down in the empty seat next to Numair.

"You said you needed me for something?" she asked. Alanna explained what had happened, starting with the night before and ending with then, including the fingernails and the lightness. "Hmm…" Daine thought about this. Then she looked at Alanna. "Will she come here and let me see her?" she asked.

"Probably," Alanna answered. "She seems to like people. Kyarri." She said. The girl looked at her. Alanna beckoned, and Kyarri came over, cradling her doll in her arms.

"'Lanna?" the little girl said questioningly. Alanna looked at Daine.

"She's trying to say my name." Alanna said, in response to Daine's look. Then to the girl, "This is Daine, Kyarri. Go say hello." The little girl looked at Alanna reproachfully. "Go on." Alanna urged the girl, pushing her slightly towards Daine. The little girl shuffled over to Daine and looked up at her. Daine held her hand out to Kyarri, and Kyarri nodded, letting Daine pick her up. Daine settled the girl on her lap. She inspected the girl's fingernails, then her eyes. She lifted Kyarri gently off her lap, then set her back down, testing her weight. Then, she closed her eyes and sank quickly into meditation, sifting through Kyarri's body with her mind. After a minute, she opened her eyes again. She set the girl on the ground, and she ran off to play with her rag doll again. Daine looked at the others.

"Her bones are hollow, like a bird's. I don't what to make of it."

Numair watched the girl. "She seems perfectly harmless." Just then, Kyarri perked her head up, listening, it looked like. None of the others could hear anything. Then she dropped her doll and got up, running for the stairs. Just before she reached them, a small, silver-grey dragon came out. Kyarri stopped in front of it, chittering excitedly. The dragon replied in whistles and squawks and clicking noises. The four adults watched, fascinated, as the dragon and the girl appeared to converse in a foreign language, completely impossible for any of the others to understand. After a minute, she took the dragon's paw and led her over to the adults, still chattering away. She pointed at them each in turn, and it looked like she was explaining things to the dragon. Then the dragon shook her head, apparently correcting her with a series of whistles.

"Kit?" asked Daine. She was talking to the dragon, Skysong, better known as Kitten or Kit, of whom she was caretaker. The dragon looked at her, and clucked impatiently. "Kit!" she said. The dragon voiced a series of clucks and whistles at her. Daine rolled her eyes, and looked at the others. "She says that she wants to talk to her wind-sister."

"Hm," Numair said.

"What will happen to her?" Alanna asked. "I can't take her. I have my duty to the crown. Neither can George, he doesn't know the first thing about children." She grinned at her man, and he elbowed her. Kit whistled some more at Daine.

"But Kit, who'll look after her?" Daine asked the dragon, and Kit replied. "You're right Kit, I suppose we could do that." She looked at the others. "Kit says that Kyarri should come live with us. I'm home often enough these days, and there's lots of servants who know about that sort of thing." She looked at Numair.

"It's okay with me, I suppose." He looked to Alanna. 'And when we're not home, maybe she could stay here at the Swoop?'

"I have no problem with that," Alanna said. "George?"

"Sounds good to me." His voice still held a trace of that broad, lower city accent.

"Then there it is," said Daine. "We'll take her, and we can look after her."

And so it was settled, the fate of Kyarri, as she showed her rag doll to the young dragon with no clue what lay ahead, and only the foggiest remembrance of what lay behind.

**A/N: I swear it gets better. This is just the beginning, some explanations that needed explaining so that everything that happens later makes sense. Some stuff happens in Chapters 2 and 3, but it really takes off in Chapter 4. So please read, review, and stick with it.**


	2. First Fights and Kittens

**Disclaimer: I wish I were Tamora Pierce. That would be so ridiculously cool. **

**But I'm not. So… only Kyarri is mine, so far. Later, we'll have other characters of my design. But not yet.**

A/N: This is kind of a filler chapter, to sort of explain her relationships and where she got her ninja skills. It cuts down on confusion later on.

Kyarri grew older, and the older she got, the more strange things they noticed about her. She was still unusually light, as well as breathtakingly graceful. A more stubborn child had not been encountered since Alanna was young, but for that she was also sweet, and caring, as well as fiercely intelligent. She loved Alanna, George, Numair, and Daine as they raised her, loved them like parents. She still treated Kitten like her own blood, and continued to speak to her, which her guardians wondered at, and most people saw as uncanny.

When Kyarri was seven, the maid who had been her nurse died. She was very old, and it came as no real shock. Kyarri had always been a very independent and self-sufficient child, and already, by the age of seven, she could dress herself, make her bed, brush and tie back her hair, and tack up the horse that Onua had given her. When her nursemaid died, she continued to do these things for herself, and asked one of the adults or the maids if she needed help with something. At the same time, her guardians thought she was old enough to learn something new, so Daine taught her to shoot. Kyarri excelled at it, and loved it. Numair taught her how to use her Sight, something that had taken time to come out. She tried, but it was hard for her. She liked to meditate, but everything else just seemed too hard. It frustrated her greatly, and some days she felt like giving up. But she didn't, instead applying her stubbornness to it, and slowly, over time, she got better, and learning got easier. George taught her the tricks of code and secrecy, and she absolutely loved it, begging George to teach her more every time she saw him. Alanna taught Kyarri fighting, how to defend herself with her hands.

Kyarri grew more, and quickly. She got tall, and stayed lithe and slender. She never cut her hair, and it cascaded in a waterfall of curls down her back. Her nails stayed silver, and her eyes stayed the same brilliant gold.

On Kyarri's eighth 'birthday' (they marked the day she fell from the sky as her fourth birthday) she took Alanna aside.

"'Lanna, I want to learn to fight with swords. Will you teach me, please?" She asked, using her nickname for Alanna. She made sure never to use it in public, but she always used it when it was just 'the family', as Kyarri thought of them.

Alanna considered this for a moment, then nodded. Kyarri shrieked and gave her a big hug. "Thank you, thank you, thank you, 'Lanna!" Alanna smiled and hugged the girl back, thanking the Goddess for the millionth time that this child had been brought into her life.

Over the next few months, Kyarri started staff work, then wooden swords, then learned to forge her own sword. Alanna was patient with the girl as she was with no one else. As the years slipped by, she'd come to love Kyarri, she realized, loved her like she was Alanna's own flesh and blood.

Shortly before her ninth birthday, Kyarri was walking through the woods between Numair's tower and the Swoop when she heard a bunch of boys yelling. She ran towards the sound at top speed, then slowed as they came into view. They were all laughing and kicking at a small black object that was lying on the ground between them. The object yowled in pain. Kyarri didn't think first, she just grabbed a stick off the ground and waded in. There were four of them, maybe 11 years old, and all much bigger than her.

Kyarri took them by surprise, ramming the stick into the stomach of the biggest boy. He doubled over, clutching his belly, and she swept his feet out from under him, then moved on to the next one, hitting him on the collarbone, then the opposite bicep, before dumping him in the mud. Just as she went to lay a hit on the third boy, the last one grabbed her stick and threw it into the brush, pulling her arms behind her. She leaned her weight back onto him, lashing out with both feet at the third boy. He dropped like a stone. She smashed the back of her head into her captor's face and felt his nose break. He let go of her as his blood trickled down her neck, hot and wet. She whirled and went to punch him in the stomach, then had to dance away quickly as he pulled out a knife from his boot top. She used a word that she'd heard from one of the Swoop's guardsmen, then focused on his blade.

He darted towards her, faster than she'd expected, and she couldn't move out of the way fast enough. His blade cut through her sleeve and opened a shallow gash on her upper arm, soaking her sleeve in blood. She bit back a yell, and then brought her bare foot up and into his stomach, channeling her pain into the kick. He yelled and opened another gash, this one on her forearm and deeper. She brought her elbow into his neck, then grabbed the wrist with the knife, twisting it up behind his back. She plucked the blade from his now-limp fingers with a grim smile, and pulled his arm tighter while he whimpered. Kyarri looked at the boys on the ground, only to see them scampering away through the trees. She stuck the knife into her belt, keeping his arm pulled tight.

"Now, I could make this hard. I could hurt you," she said. The boy just whimpered in response. "You are a really terrible person, hurting that cat," she continued angrily. She realized then that she was shaking, from anger, and adrenaline. "I'll let you go for now, knowing that you got beat by a younger girl, but I know where you live, and I'll report you and your friends to Baron George." She pushed the boy away from her. He stumbled, then ran for the trees, cruses flowing from his lips. Kyarri ignored him, instead going to the kitten they'd been kicking. It was lying on the ground, whimpering. She leaned down to pick it up and the ground yawed away from her. She reached out, trying to find something to help her balance, and, finding none, fell over. The kitten walked clumsily over to her and licked her face, mewing. Kyarri giggled, then sat up carefully. She picked up the kitten gingerly, being careful of his cuts and bumps, and settled him in the crook of her uninjured arm, as not to bleed on him. She used her other arm as little as possible as she stood carefully.

The woods spun for a minute, before her vision settled. She checked that the knife was in her belt, then set off towards the Swoop at a purposeful walk. The guards stared as she approached, a little girl, shirt soaked in blood, barefoot, with a battered kitten in one arm, the other hanging uselessly by her side, walking tall and proud through the gates. In the courtyard, Daine came running, leaving her horse half-saddled. She skidded to a halt in front of Kyarri.

"Kyarri, what _happened_ to you?" Daine demanded.

The girl looked up at her with an expression of total innocence. "I fell down," she said. Daine rolled her eyes.

"Fine, don't tell me, but are you okay?" she asked, gently taking the kitten. Numair came over, curious to see what was going on.

Kyarri swayed a little. "I am absolutely fi-." She fell into a dead faint.

When she woke, it was dark. She was lying in her own bed, in her room at the Swoop. She was wearing nothing but her shift, and the kitten was tucked under her chin, purring. She sat up and picked it up, then nearly dropped it, not expecting the stiffness in her arm. She shook her head, then picked up the kitten again, looking it over. It had been bathed, and was black from the tip of its nose to the end of it's tail She saw that it was male. She looked him in the face and smiled; his eyes were the same shade of amethyst as Alanna's.

"Hullo, Master Cat," she said, setting him on her bed.

_Hello_ he said back. Kyarri smiled at him again, seeing it as perfectly normal that he was speaking to her, even if it wasn't exactly speech.

"What shall I call you?" she asked. He appeared to consider this, though its hard to tell, with cats.

_I think you should choose. _He replied. _I have been called so many things, I can no longer remember my real name._

She thought for a minute, then remembered a day, a couple of years before. Jon, Gary, and Raoul had been visiting the Swoop and they were out riding with Kyarri. They were telling her stories of when they'd been pages, all the trouble they'd gotten in. Raoul said something about something called 'Faithful', and they'd all fallen silent. Then Jon had looked up with a wicked gleam in his eyes. "Kyarri," he said, "If you ever get a kitten, name it Raoul, okay?" Gary had laughed, and Raoul had elbowed Jon, but Kyarri had nodded and fixed it in her memory. Now it came back in sharp detail, every bit outlined sharply, each word, the stick in Raoul's hair, the ink on Gary's hands, the smell of the forest and the horses, absolutely perfect. She looked at the cat, bringing her mind back to the present.

"Raoul," she said simply. "Your name is Raoul." The kitten looked mildly affronted, then appeared to let it go. Kyarri giggled as she got out of bed. She realized that she was really quite hungry, so she set out for the kitchens, Raoul in her arms. She turned the corner, and nearly ran into Alanna. She stopped and backed up a couple of steps.

"Kyarri, you're awake!" Alanna said.

"Apparently," Kyarri replied.

Alanna frowned as she looked at Kyarri. "What happened to you?"

"I fell down," Kyarri said, the very picture of innocence. Alanna snorted.

"That's a good one. Tell anoth…" she trailed off, having spotted Raoul-the-Cat. She looked as if she'd seen a ghost. Raoul mewed at her, then jumped out of Kyarri's arms and climbed clumsily onto Alanna's shoulder.

"Faithful?" Alanna breathed. Raoul mrted. Alanna laughed softly, then looked at Kyarri. "You named him Raoul?" she asked. Kyarri nodded.

"Jon told me once that if I ever got a kitten, I should name it Raoul. So I did." Alanna laughed as the kitten stuck his cold little nose in her ear, startling her.

And that was that. The first time Jon, Gary, Raoul, Thayet, Buri, and Myles saw the cat, they stared like Alanna had, but eventually the all adjusted, and it became a common sight to see Kyarri running around, Raoul-the-Cat hot on her heels.

**Review please!! And yes, I know this chapter sucks, but I still want reviews telling me how much it sucks. They make me happy. And I promise that it does get better. Pinky swear.**


	3. The Prospect of Knighthood

One warm summer evening, Kyarri and Daine lay on the roof of Numair's tower, watching the stars and talking about nothing much.

'Daine? Can I ask you something?'

Daine looked over at Kyarri. 'What is it?'

The girl sat up. 'Would you mind…I mean, would it be okay with you if…' she cast around, trying to find the right words. Then, they poured out in a rush. 'Can I go be a page?' She didn't look at Daine, but straight out over the land. In the distance, she could see the Swoop, and by the torches burning on the deck, she knew that one of her guardians was out late. She used the shift of her Sight that let her see across distances and saw that it was Alanna, reading a book and enjoying the warm night air.

Daine sat up too, studying her young charge. At ten, she was tall for a girl her age, more like the height of the local boys, slender and graceful. Her hair was still long, but now she kept it all braided up, so it wasn't too much of a bother, although curls still tended to spring loose, softening her sharp features. There was something oddly striking about those features, the high cheekbones, the pert lips, and of course her thick-lashed golden eyes.

The young woman smiled and put her arm around Kyarri. 'If that's what you want, then absolutely.'

'But what about Numy?' she asked, her amber eyes worried. 'I don't think he'll be very pleased.'

Daine grinned wolfishly. 'You leave him to me.'

Kyarri laughed at the look on her face.

The next night, Kyarri was tucked up in her bed in the tower, dreaming of knights and castles, never knowing about the argument that was going on only a few miles away.

'No! Absolutely not!' Numair snapped. 'She is too young, too vulnerable, and the idea is altogether preposterous!'

'Numair, you're being an idiot about this,' Daine said calmly, ignoring his squawks of indignation.

'Daine's right, you know,' Alanna put in. 'She's as old as any other page when they start their training, she's fast, she's a sharp learner, and she already has the advantage over the others when it comes to fighting, with all she's learned from us.'

'But, she's _ours_,' Numair pleaded. 'I don't want anything to happen to her.'

'Numair, that's silly. If nothing ever happens to her, then nothing will _ever_ happen to her.'

The mage stared at his lover for a second, working out what she'd just said. Then, he sighed. 'I still don't like it. Besides, she's not even noble!'

Alanna gave him a dignified glare which made even him, one of the most powerful mages in the world, quaver. 'She will go as our adoptive daughter, as Kyarri of Pirate's Swoop.'

Numair threw his hands up in the air and muttered something that sounded a lot like 'Women!' Daine thumped him lightly on the back of the head, even though she had to reach way up to do it.

Alanna looked at her husband, where he was leaning against the wall. 'George? You've been awfully quiet.'

George leaned forwards and put his arms around her waist, resting his chin on top of her head. 'If it's what she wants, then I can't say no,' he replied. Then, he grinned. 'Besides, you'd probably beat me to a pulp if I tried.'

'Numair?' Alanna asked.

He sighed again. 'If it's what she wants.'

Miles away, Kyarri rolled over and smiled in her sleep.

The next morning, Kyarri was woken by the first rays of the sun through her window. She cleaned her teeth, splashed water on her face, and donned one of her lightest summer dresses before going downstairs. In the dining room, all four of her guardians awaited her, serious looks on their faces. Kyarri gulped and crossed her fingers, hidden in the folds of her skirts, for luck. She looked from face to face, trying to figure out what the verdict was.

Alanna beckoned her over, and Kyarri took the seat she gestured to.

'Kyarri, we've talked it over, and we've decided that, if you really want to with every fibre of your being, you can try for knighthood.'

Kyarri fought to hide her grin, knowing that there was a 'but' coming.

'But,' Alanna said, 'You have to be sure about this. You know that it's not easy. It's hard, back-breaking work. I nearly left my first month.' George jumped and stared at Alanna, startled. Alanna continued. 'The hours are hard and so is the work. People will make it hard on you, because you're a girl. They'll break your things, knock you down, taunt you. Even some of your teachers will be harder on you, or maybe ignore you completely.'

Kyarri nodded. 'I know all of that.'

'And you still want to try?' Numair asked.

'Yes. I can do this. 'Lanna did, and so did Lady Keladry. Girls _can_ be knights. I can, too.'

Alanna nodded. 'Then it's settled. We'd best start packing you up, then, if we're to leave for Corus in a week.'

Kyarri whooped and hugged her, then her other three guardians, before running off to tell her friends, shouting the news along the hallway.

'Alanna?' George asked.

'Hm?' she replied, distracted.

'Did you really almost leave your first month.'

'Oh, yes. Ask Coram. He didn't believe me when I said so, and I figured out later that I didn't even believe myself.'

George chuckled. 'Lass, you surprise even me sometimes.' He kissed the top of her head.

The next few days were filled with busy work. Kyarri had nearly outgrown all of her clothes; she was shooting up like a weed, and they all needed letting out. They didn't even bother letting out her few fancy dresses, and she was only taking two of her plainer ones.

'We'll get Mistress Lalasa to make you a couple of new gowns when we're in Corus,' Alanna said.

'But 'Lana, _why_?' Kyarri whined. 'It's not like I ever _wear _them.'

Alanna eyed the dress Kyarri was wearing just then.

' 'Lana, that's different. It's _summer._ It's _hot_ outside. I wear these dresses here to keep cool. But gowns? When will I ever wear one of those?'

'I don't know. But if the opportunity arises, I want you to be able to take it. What if her Majesty invites you to tea?'

Kyarri rolled her eyes. 'Ma, I don't think that that's very likely to happen.'

'No?' Alanna asked, eyebrows raised. 'Your guardians are the King's champion, his spymaster, the Wildmage, and the realm's most powerful mage. She is your _godsmother. _If anything ever happened to us, you would be Thayet and Jon's problem.'

Kyarri giggled at the wry twist in Alanna's voice when she said the word 'problem'.

'Okay, so maybe I'll get _one _gown.'

Alanna just shook her head and sighed as she shook out and folded one of Kyarri's shirts. Then, something else occurred to her.

'Kyarri? You know, we'll have to do something about that hair.'

Kyarri, in the dressing room, studied her plaited locks for a moment, frowning thoughtfully. Then, she took a leather tie from her pocket. She tied it tightly around her braid, just below shoulder height. She took her dagger (a gift from George, who had taught her how to use it as well) from her belt, took a deep breath, then cut through the thick braid, just above the leather cord. She sheathed her knife, shook her hands through her hair, and picked up the fallen braid. She walked back into her bedroom with the braid in her hands. 'Better?' she asked.

Alanna took one look at Kyarri, standing with her many years worth of hair in her hands, the curls still on her head cascading down her back, chin stuck out defiantly, and laughed until she cried.

The night before they were to leave for Corus, the four adults stayed up late, sitting around the scrubbed wooden table in the dining room of Numair's tower and talking.

'Should we tell her?' Daine asked worriedly. 'She'll be among so many others of her own age, she'll know that something is different about her. She's a bright girl.'

'Yeah?' George asked. 'And how exactly would we go about doing that, then? "We'll miss you, lass, and by the way, you fell from the sky when you were three years old and you have the marks of an immortal on you."? That seems like a great send-off.'

'But she ought to _know,_' Numair said.

Alanna shook her head decisively. 'No. She'll have enough to worry about without that hanging over her head. When the time comes, we'll tell her. Until then, just let her be.'

Two floors above, Kyarri tossed and turned, unable to sleep for her excitement, yet still completely unaware of the conversation going on below. Finally, with Raoul-the-cat tucked under her chin, she slept.

Early the next morning, Kyarri kissed George, Numair, and Daine tearful farewells, as Alanna was the one taking her to the palace.

'Goodbye, lass,' George said, hugging her tight. 'See you at Midwinter.'

Numair picked Kyarri up in a big bear hug and kissed her on both cheeks. 'We'll be in the city in just a couple of weeks. Daine and I will be your teachers, sometimes, but you'll have to remember to call us by our proper names, or we'll all get in trouble.'

Kyarri went to Daine last, clinging to her tightly. Daine smiled and kissed her forehead. After a minute, she gently tugged the girl off. 'Go with Alanna, now. Be good, and mind your teachers. I'll see you in a few weeks.' She gave the girl one last kiss, then stepped back.

Kyarri mounted the horse Alanna held for her and took the reins, her throat so tight with emotion that she couldn't speak. When Alanna asked her if she was ready, Kyarri just nodded, head bowed so that they couldn't see her overbright eyes. When she reached the first bend in the road, however, she turned to wave, her tears spilling over at the sight of her guardians disappearing, still waving goodbye to her.

When they had disappeared completely behind the trees, Kyarri turned forwards in her saddle again and groped in her breech pocket for a handkerchief. She found one, rather mucked-up and stained, but still perfectly serviceable. She wiped her eyes, then stuffed the damp linen back in her pocket.

The ride to Corus was peaceful. They talked sometimes, about whatever came into their minds. Kyarri had many questions about life as a page, and Alanna had many things to tell her. Other times, they rode in comfortable silence. It was a good time, and Alanna felt that when they approached the city, it was far too soon. They rode over the ridge and Kyarri gasped with awe. The first lights of the evening were burning, while others made use of the last vestiges of light from the setting sun. The lamplight made the river glitter and the whole city seemed alight.

'It's beautiful, isn't it?' Alanna asked, a little sadly. Then, she brightened a bit. 'You don't have to be at the palace until tomorrow afternoon. What d'you say we stay in the city for the night, and we'll look around for a while in the morning, before I have to go?'

Kyarri's thin face broke into a smile and she nodded vigorously. She had been dreading saying goodbye to Alanna, and the idea of postponing it, even for less than a day, was a welcome one.

Grinning, Alanna led the way down the slope.

By noon the next day, Kyarri had a new pair of boots (her old ones were much too small and pinched her toes) and had suffered through an incredibly undignified dress fitting at Mistress Lalasa's shop in the city. Now, Alanna and Kyarri were riding through Temple District, on their way to the palace gates.

'Who were all those people, 'Lanna, in that place we stayed? They all knew who I was!'

Alanna smiled. 'That place was where your father used to live, when I first met him. Those people are…good people, I s'pose, for a given value of "good". If you're ever in trouble and need help, go to them. If you ever go to them when you _aren't_ in dire need of help, you'll wish you'd never been born.'

Kyarri grinned. That was her 'Lanna all right; fierce to the core. ' 'Lanna, I'm going to miss you.'

Alanna smiled, a little sadly. 'Me too. But you'll make friends here, and you can visit Grandfather Miles and Grandma Eleni whenever you like. Numair and Daine will be here soon, and you'll be able to see them. And you know Jon, Raoul and Gary, and you've met Jon's grandson, Jasson, and Raoul's Dominic, even if you don't remember it.'

'I do remember. I had to wear a horrible, uncomfortable gown to that stupid party, and then you, Buri, Thayet, and Daine tutted at me because I ruined it playing in the mud with the boys.'

Alanna laughed, the noise echoing as they passed through the palace gates. 'So you _do_ remember. You'll be fine. Just mind yourself, keep your temper under control, and never let them know what you're thinking.'

Kyarri nodded solemnly, committing this to memory.

All too soon, they were standing outside the training master's study. Alanna looked Kyarri over one more time, straightened her shirt and knocked on the door.

'Come in.' The voice was calm and level. Alanna opened the door and Kyarri walked in first, Alanna close behind. The man behind the desk looked up at them. 'Please, sit,' he said, gesturing to two chairs behind them. They sat. Lord Padraig HaMinch studied Kyarri over his clasped hands. 'You wish to be a knight?' he asked.

'Yes, sir,' Kyarri replied.

'You understand how difficult it will be? You will have very little time to yourself. You won't have time for silly girlishness. The boys will not go easy on you; they may make your life a misery.'

'I understand, sir.'

'Very well then. It appears that I cannot deter you. In that case, I will make some quick explanations. You are expected to obey your teachers, make it to lessons on time, complete your work and not cause trouble. You will have a page sponsor to explain the rules to you; if you break any of these rules, you will be assigned punishment work. Fighting will not be tolerated. Any questions?'

Kyarri shook her head, then remembered who she was speaking to. 'No sir.'

'Very well then. There is a chamber across the hall in which you may say your goodbyes. After that, a servant will take you to your rooms. Good luck, Page Kyarri.'

'Thank you, your lordship.'

'Good day, Lady Alanna.'

'Good day, milord.' They both bowed to each other, and Kyarri bowed to the training master before the two females took their leave.

'You're sure about this?' Alanna asked for the thousandth time.

'I'm absolutely sure, 'Lanna. I'll be _fine_.' Kyarri reassured her guardian.

'Remember, mind your teachers. Don't show off. If you get into fights, or someone teases you, never tattle, _ever. _Just say that-'

'-I fell down, I know.' Kyarri finished for her.

'And Kyarri?'

'Yeah?'

'It might not be the best idea to spread around about who your guardians are. Some of the pages will already know, and some may ask, but don't talk about it much. You'll have people calling you all sorts of things without knowing about all of us. _And _you don't want them saying that Miles, Daine and Numy are favouring you.'

'Yes, 'Lana.'

Alanna hugged her once last time, holding her tight. They both had tears in their eyes.

They stepped out into the hall, tucking damp handkerchiefs into their pockets.

'This way, Miss, I mean, Page Kyarri,' a maid said. Alanna squeezed Kyarri's hand one last time, then headed off in the opposite direction from Kyarri and the maid.


	4. Sponsors and Snakes

**A/N: Okay, this is the chapter where you have to read this note, otherwise you'll think I'm totally bonkers. The math goes like this: So, Raoul and Buri got married at the end of Lady Knight, which would make Kel about twenty or so. Roald and Shinko were already married, and a few years older than Kel. Therefore, Raoul would be having kids at more or less the same time that Jon would be having grandkids.**

**I wonder who feels older.**

The maid led Kyarri to her rooms, stealing strange glances at her over her shoulder as they went. Kyarri ignored her, knowing that this would be a common reaction. Kyarri was too nervous at excited to pay the maid any attention anyways, although she tried not to let it show.

When they got to Kyarri's rooms, Kyarri thanked the maid, who curtsied before leaving, and then leaned against her shut door, surveying her new room. It was simple, but the furniture was sturdy. Kyarri unlocked her window with the key the maid had given her and leaned on the sill, studying the courtyard beyond. In the middle, there was a giant, gnarled old sycamore, twisting up to the sky. Around the edges of the courtyard were cherry blossom trees, brought over from the Yamani Islands. Birds flitted in the branches of both sorts of trees, called out to each other in twitters. The sound relaxed Kyarri, reminding her of home.

A rustling sort of _thunk_ behind her made her turn. A wicker basket that didn't belong to her fell over. The top fell off, revealing a snake, about the length of Kyarri's arm.

It looked at her with jewel-bright eyes, as if considering her. Calmly, Kyarri climbed up onto the window sill, trying to remember what the guards at Pirate's Swoop had taught her about snakes, how to tell which ones were poisonous.

_Yellow to black, poison lack, Yellow to red, you'll soon be dead_? Was that it? Kyarri hoped so; this snake was yellow and black with absolutely no red on it, so she figured that it was okay to step down. The snake raised its head from the ground, still staring at the girl, which unnerved her slightly. She'd been planning on just ignoring the snake, but something about its gaze made her want to get it out of her room _right now_.

Carefully, Kyarri reached down, refusing to break eye contact with the snake as she slowly wrapped her left hand around the snake's muscular, sinuous body. She then lowered her right hand, wrapping it loosely around the snake, closer to its head than the left hand. The snake continued to watch her almost curiously. Holding her breath, Kyarri began to lift the snake gently off the floor, praying to any god that might be listening that it wasn't poisonous.

Just then, everything happened all at once. Kyarri felt a strange tingling in the places that her hand touched the snake, someone shouted out in the courtyard and the snake twisted in her grip, turning to sink its fangs into her forearm. Blood welled up, red against the black of the snake's head.

_Well, _thought Kyarri, _Now there _is_ red on the snake. I'm still hoping it's not poisonous._

As much as the snakebite hurt, Kyarri knew that the best idea was not to just rip the snake off of her arm, even though every fibre of her being wanted to do just that. Instead, she slowly walked to the window again and climbed out of it, glad that it was close to the ground. Then, she laid the snake's body gently on the ground, moving slower than continental drift as not to scare it further. One snakebite was all she really needed for her first day as a page. The snake released her arm, blood on its fangs, and gave her one last unnerving look before slithering off into the grass.

Kyarri stared at the bite on her arm for a second, remembering more of what the guardsmen had told her about snakes. You had to stop the poison from spreading by tying something around the area. That was easy; she pulled the leather tie from the end of her braid and tied it around her arm. You had to suck the poison out, or it would kill you. Kyarri wasn't sure if this snake _was _poisonous, but she had to do it, just in case. She put her arm up to her mouth and sucked the blood from the wound.

It tasted vile, bitter, salty and tangy like copper, and was warm and sticky against her lips. She spat it out, where it left red droplets on some beautiful white roses. She did this twice more, until she was satisfied that the poison, if there had been any, was gone. Then, she walked to the small stream running through the courtyard, checking it with her Sight to see if it was clean. Since it was, she soaked her handkerchief in it and wiped away the worst of the blood from the wound, so she could see it properly. More blood welled, then ran in twin rivulets on either side of her arm to drip on the ground.

Kyarri sighed and wished for the millionth time that she had the healing Gift instead of her Sight. She rummaged in her pocket for another handkerchief, and found one, a little bit tear-dampened but otherwise clean. She folded it in four and applied it to the bite, pressing down hard. The bleeding slowed, but it still wasn't long before she'd bled through her handkerchief, and a quick check of her pockets showed that she didn't have another. She muttered a word that Alanna had expressly forbidden her from using. Someone nearby laughed.

Kyarri jumped and looked around. A boy, maybe a year or two older than Kyarri was sitting in the branches of the sycamore above her, studying her curiously. He came down out of the tree slowly, standing on the other side of the two-foot wide stream.

'Here,' he said, holding out two handkerchiefs of his own.

Kyarri took them without meeting his eyes. 'Thanks.' The boy smiled at her, then beckoned her to follow him. She did, following him to an open window. She stayed outside, pressing the new handkerchief to her forearm. The boy was back a minute later with a small cloth bag. He opened it to reveal gauze bandages. He folded one up into a thick pad, and then took her arm, peeling off the blood-soaked cloths, letting them fall to the ground. He doused her cut with something in a bottle that stung, then pressed this new pad into place, wrapping it there with a bandage, his hands surprisingly gentle for their calluses. The sharp pain in her arm dulled to a bone-deep ache.

'Thank you,' Kyarri said.

'No problem.' The boy replied, untying the leather thong around her arm. 'So, what-' Just then, a bell rang. 'Whoops. Better go back through your window and into the hallway. It's time for milord's first night inspection in five minutes.'

'Okay. Thank you, again.' Kyarri said, and headed back to her window, mind whirring with the events of the last fifteen minutes. It already felt like years since she'd said her last goodbye to Alanna.

She climbed through the window and quickly checked her reflection. Then she winced; the verdict was Not Good. Her hair was mussed and there was blood on her shirt. Her feet were bare.

She changed her shirt at lightning speed, braided her hair quickly (and therefore messily, but better than it all falling everywhere) and jammed her feet into soft leather slippers, so that she wouldn't have to take the time to look for stockings. Then, she went out into the hallway.

Most of the boys were there already, standing in a group chattering and shoving each other, but the second they saw her, they all fell silent. Even without her long, braided hair and girly shoes, Kyarri was unmistakeably a girl. It was in those long lashes, the fine bones of her face, and her graceful movements.

Kyarri felt herself flush as they all stared at her, and she stared back defiantly. This went on for long moments, as the seconds stretched themselves to fill full embarrassment potential, and then was mercifully broken by the entrance of the training master.

'Pages,' he began. 'Welcome back. The rules have not changed, nor should you expect them to at any time during your training. We have three new pages this year, and they need sponsors.'

Kyarri glanced to her left, where two boys quivered. One was several inches shorter than she, with white blonde hair, and he was so pale from fear that he looked like he was going to disappear altogether.

The other was a bit taller than Kyarri, and solidly built, with red hair and brown eyes. His face was even redder than his hair.

Kyarri wondered what the others saw in her, other that The Girl. In her loose, long-sleeved shirt they couldn't see the muscles that she'd worked so hard for this last year, but maybe they saw something in her face, a glint in her eye or the set in her chin, something that showed them that she was here to stay. Now that the training master was there, none of them would so much as look at her, except for the boy who had bandaged her arm for her, who looked at her curiously.

The training master continued, pointing at the small, pale youth. 'What is your name?'

'William of Nond, sir.' The boy said, visibly shaking.

'Who will sponsor Page William?' he asked the assembled pages. There was a moment of muttering before a tall boy with very short dark brown hair stepped forward.

'I will sponsor him,' the boy said.

'Very well, Samuel of Tasride.' He motioned for the pale boy-William-to go stand with his sponsor, before going to torment the red-head. 'Your name and holdings?' he asked.

'Ivath of Kennan,' he stuttered, going even redder.

'Who will sponsor him?'

An older page with hair so black that it looked like it was absorbing the light spoke. 'I will.'

'Jerel of Disart. Hm. I think it would be good for you to have a first-year to look after. Maybe teach you some responsibility?' The boy bowed to the training master and said nothing as Ivath shuffled over to him, shoulders hunched, as if to draw the least attention.

Now, it was Kyarri's turn.

'Your name?' The training master's voice was just as calm and level as it had been in his office half an hour before. The boys broke into chatter. 'Silence! An hour's work in the armoury goes to the next boy to speak out of turn.' He turned back to Kyarri. 'Well?'

'Kyarri of Pirate's Swoop.' Her cheeks were red, but her chin was stuck out in her typical stubborn pose, defying anyone to say a word about it. No one spoke, but there was some odd, whisper-like breathing amongst the pages. She glared at them.

'Will anyone step forward to sponsor _her_?' He put so much emphasis on the word, he nearly spat it across the hallway.

The whispers stopped. Now, it sounded as if no one even _breathed._ If a feather dropped in here, it would make a deafening _thud_.

Everyone just stood there as the seconds ticked by, Kyarri's face losing it's redness to her usual slight tan from the sun, knowing that the worst was over. She'd been bitten by a snake and subtly mocked by a training master who obviously hated her, so a couple of stupid boys dropping dead from lack of breath was no skin off her nose.

The time stretched further and further without a sound, not even a slight rustle of clothing. Then, someone in the back sighed.

'I'll take her, milord.' The mutters started up again as the boys parted the let the one who had spoken through. It was the boy who had bandaged Kyarri's arm, and he bowed to the training master.

'Dominic of Goldenlake, are you sure you can handle a new page?'

Dominic bowed. 'With all due respect, sir, yes.'

The training master eyed him, wondering if the boy was being rude. Then, he appeared to let it go. 'Fine. You're in charge of her.'

Dominic bowed again. 'Thank you, sir.' His 'sir's were almost mocking, and Kyarri felt the urge to put her hand over his mouth and make him stop talking, before he got himself into more trouble.

The training master gave him a withering glare as he turned to the assembled boys. 'Dinner is at the next bell. _Don't_ be late on your first day.' With that, he turned and walked away.

'C'mon,' Kyarri's sponsor tugged her good arm. They ran to catch up with the training master. Kyarri didn't know why, but she did know better than to question her sponsor, especially five minutes into their knowing one another.

When Lord Padraig heard running steps behind him, he stopped and turned. Both Dominic and Kyarri bowed to him as he frowned. 'What do you want?'

'Please, sir, Kyarri hurt her arm earlier. Have we permission to go to the infirmary and have it looked at?'

'What, a little scrape or bruise, to the infirmary?' The training master did not look impressed.

'No sir.' Dominic nudge Kyarri and she realized that she ought to explain. She pulled up her sleeve to show the thick bandage, which she now saw had pretty much soaked through the bandage, staining her sleeve. When Lord Padraig saw it, his eyebrows came together with an almost audible click.

'What in Mithros' name did you do to yourself?' he asked.

'A snake bit me, sir.'

Lord Padraig's frown deepened still further. 'Someone put a snake in your room?'

Kyarri remembered not to tattle. 'No sir. I was in the courtyard, sir.'

The training master sighed. 'Very well. Go to the infirmary and have it looked at. You may be late for supper if the healer says you need to stay for longer. Page Dominic, you may accompany her.'

'Thank you, sir.' Kyarri bowed again, as did Dominic. Lord Padraig continued down the hall, shaking his head.

'The infirmary is this way,' said Dominic, gesturing down a side-passage.

**A/N:****This chapter turned out slightly strange. I hope you liked it; please review.**


	5. Acceptance

Dom and Kyarri walked down the hall, stealing glances at one another. Then, Dom broke the silence.

'I have to ask,' he said, 'how in the name of Mithros did you manage to get bit by a snake in your own room, on the first day?'

Kyarri hesitated before saying 'Someone left it there, in a basket.'

Dom stopped and stared at her for a moment, then shook his head and kept walking. 'Just like them, isn't it?' he muttered to himself.

'Why did you step up?' Kyarri asked.

'What?'

'Why did you volunteer to sponsor me?' she asked. 'I'm a girl. According to everyone here, I'll be gone in less than a week. Even the training master hates me, and yet you just offer to be my sponsor. What's that all about?'

Dominic sighed. 'My father is Raoul of Goldenlake and Malorie's Peak, knight commander of the King's Own. I know Lady Alanna, and I've ridden with Lady Keladry, seen her fight. I know that they made it through the training, and the Ordeal, against odds that would have beaten most of the boys here. From my studies, I know that there were lady knights in Tortall not very long ago, and I've seen the Yamani ladies with their glaives, and K'miri warrior women. I know that women can be as good or better than men at fighting. Why shouldn't we give them a chance?' Then his face took on a rueful smile. 'That, and that my father is quite taken with you. He'd _kill _me if he knew I'd let you be shamed like that.'

Kyarri laughed. 'I like your father. I have a cat that's named after him.'

'We aren't allowed pets, sorry.'

'He won't be living with me. He'll be living with Dai- _Mistress_ Daine and Master Numair.'

'Here we are.' They stopped in front of a large, wooden door with a large, wooden sign proclaiming its use. Dominic opened the door and ushered her inside.

The clerk shuffling papers on a desk looked up, then stood with a world-weary sigh, like it was such a big deal. I glanced down at my arm; without my noticing it, my sleeve had been slowly soaked in blood. Dominic saw where I was looking.

'That was some snake,' he said. 'Are you okay?'

Kyarri nodded. 'Just a little dizzy.'

The clerk returned, trailing a man with greying, mouse-brown hair. Dominic bowed, and Kyarri realized that she ought to as well, even though she didn't know whom she was addressing.

'Hello, Dominic. Gotten into another scrape with the other boys?'

'No, your Grace. My friend got bitten by a snake.'

The man, who Kyarri had now figured out was Duke Baird of Queenscove, the palace's chief healer, led them to a room with a cot, where he had Kyarri sit. He rolled up her blood-soaked sleeve and examined the bandage, then peeled that off as well. The two holes were still bleeding sluggishly.

'This is going to hurt a bit,' the Duke warned her. 'Don't fight me, or it won't heal properly.'

Kyarri nodded. 'My guardian is a healer. She taught me to behave.'

Baird closed his eyes. Cool green fire gathered around the wound, soothing the fiery pain, until something hurt sharply. Kyarri clenched her other fist and bit her lip until it bled, fighting to keep from crying out. Slowly, the pain ebbed away in the green fire as the punctures healed from the inside up, leaving two small scars in place of the wounds.

Kyarri blinked, and looked up at the healer, who was frowning, slightly. 'I'm sorry, what did you say your name was?'

'I didn't. It's Kyarri of Pirate's Swoop.'

'I didn't know that Alanna had a daughter,' said the Duke, tidying away the blood-soaked cloths.

'She doesn't, exactly. I'm her adopted daughter.' Kyarri flushed saying this and glanced at Dominic, who tactfully pretended not to hear.

'Well, Page Kyarri, that snake got you pretty good. It left those two wounds and splintered your bone as well, which made it much harder to heal. It might be a bit stiff for a couple of days, and you'll need food soon and sleep soon, after me burning the last of the poison out.'

'A _poisonous _snake?' Dominic asked from the doorway, indignant.

'It appears so. But you know something about snake bites, yes?' he asked Kyarri.

'Yes. I sucked the poison out.'

'I thought it would be something like that. Now, off you two run to supper. Be careful, though, you might be a bit dizzy. Dominic, you look after her.' Kyarri stood to bow and nearly fell over; Dominic steadied her. 'Like I said.'

Both pages bowed and left.

As soon as they were out of earshot, Dominic began ranting again. 'A poisonous snake? Out of all the stupid, dangerous, juvenile tricks.'

'Dominic?' Kyarri said.

'Yes?' he snapped.

'Breathe. It's okay. It was just a little bite. It's dealt with.'

'That may be so, however-' the bell rang loudly, interrupting his rant. He glared at the ceiling, as people often do when the bell goes, then sighed. 'Let's get you to dinner, before you cause even more trouble.'

Entering the mess hall was a different matter than leaving her room had been. Not only were there pages but there were squires as well, and to make matters worse, Kyarri and Dominic were late. They had permission to be, but it made them a spectacle. The room, so loud that it could be heard through the door before, was silent the moment she stepped into it. Dominic led her over to a table on the page's side of the room, where several others were already sitting, and sat her down at it, on the end of one bench. He slid in beside her.

The other boys were already eating. Dom introduced them one by one.

'This is Samuel of Tasride,' he said, gesturing to the boy who had sponsored William of Nond, who sat beside him. 'Ayden of Jesslaw,' he nodded at a boy with thickly curling light brown hair and a crooked nose, 'Owen of Rosemark.' A boy with tanned skin, black hair and bright green eyes smiled at Kyarri. 'And, of course, Prince Jasson of Conte.'

'Pleased to meet you,' said the Prince. 'Or rather, remeet you, as it might be. I seem to remember something about you beating our Dom here to a pulp a few summers ago.'

Dominic coloured a bit as the other boys laughed. 'At least I _tried,_' he jibed back. 'You saw how fast she was and you hid up a tree!' The boys laughed even harder at this as the Prince shook his head.

'Why were you two late? And why didn't you get punished for it?' Ayden of Jesslaw asked.

Dominic's face took on that angry cast again. 'Someone put a snake in her room. A _poisonous_ snake. And it bit her.'

'Do you have to keep bringing that up?' Kyarri demanded. 'It was one little snakebite, and you act like it was the end of the world.'

Dominic looked at her plaintively. 'It turned your bone to a pile of matchsticks.'

'And that's all over now. All that's left is a scar and some exhaustion, so can we just eat supper?'

'A scar? Let's see!' said Owen of Rosemark.

Kyarri laughed a little and brought her arm above the table. Everyone stared at her sleeve, caked as it was by dried blood, and then at the two circular, shiny white scars on the inside of her arm, until she put it below the table again. The boys resumed their chatter while Dominic poured her a glass of juice.

'Drink,' he commanded. 'You'll feel better.' She obeyed. He was right; the cold, tart juice cleared her head. Meanwhile, he began to pile food onto her plate. 'Eat, too. Normally I'd show you around for a bit tonight, but you'll be too tired after that healing. You'll be lucky if you make it through dinner.'

She barely made it through dinner, falling asleep with her head on her arm, which in turn was resting on the table, during dessert. The next thing she knew, Dominic was shaking her awake.

'Come on, Kyarri. We've got to get you to bed.' Kyarri blinked blearily and noticed that they weren't alone; Prince Jasson was still there as well.

Kyarri stood, then sat again with a thump as her head spun, ears roaring. 'Easy does it.' Dominic put an arm around her waist and lifted her up, steadying her on her feet. With Dominic on her left and Jasson on her right, Kyarri made it out of the mess hall.

'…And we'll just get you right to bed, and in the morning you'll be absolutely fine, although you'll also be absolutely starving. Maybe you can even write to your family, telling them that you nearly got killed by some idiots your first hour here. I know Lady Alanna, and I can only imagine how she'll react to the news…'

'Dom, give it a rest,' Jasson said. 'She's exhausted. Careful,' he added, to Kyarri this time. 'We're at the bottom of a staircase.'

She nodded sleepily. Halfway up the stairs though, she collapsed into sleep. Dominic and Jasson caught her and Dominic carried her the rest of the way up to her room, the young heir following them.

'Goddess, Jase, she weighs _nothing._'

'I know; I helped you catch her. It's weird.'

Jasson tried opening Kyarri's door, then looked up at Dominic.

'Dom, it's locked.'

Dom sighed and looked down at the sleeping girl. He noticed a leather cord sticking out of her pocket and pulled at it. Her keys dropped to the floor. Jasson opened the door and hurried to turn back Kyarri's sheets so that Dom could lay her down on the bed. They took off her shoes and pulled her blankets over her and Jasson locked her window before they left, leaving her keys on the table by her bed.


	6. Friends and Enemies

**A/N: I've had a million people asking me, so I feel that I have to explain that, yes, I messed with the timeline and completely ignored Aly, Thom and Alan, as well as Sarra and Rikash Salmalin. You'll just have to live with it, sorry.**

Kyarri took the opportunity the next morning _not _to get up at the first crack of dawn, instead letting herself lie in that wonderful lazy sleepy place somewhere between awake and asleep for the extra hour between first light and first bell. At the first bell, though, she sat up and threw her blankets off. Her fire had been banked by one of the servants the night before, so the room wasn't too cold, but Kyarri felt sort of shaky and shivery. She remembered the events of the last day, marvelling at the fact that she'd said goodbye to her guardian less that a day ago.

A servant knocked on the door, bringing wash water and clean towels. Kyarri thanked her, and she bobbed a curtsy before hurrying off with a frightened look. The girl sighed, knowing that it would be a long time before anyone viewed her as a normal part of life in the castle.

She'd just pulled on her breeches when someone hammered on her door. 'Are you decent?'

Kyarri yanked the door open. Her page-sponsor was there, along with Prince Jasson and Ayden of Jesslaw, all looking distinctly rumpled. 'Give me one minute,' she said. 'Come in.' They did, all taking seats on the windowsill or the edge of her bed. Kyarri ran a brush through her hair then braided it tightly. She slid her feet into her favourite soft leather slippers, then put her keys in her pocket.

'Okay, all set.' She said. She noticed they were all staring at her hair. 'What? Do I have something in my hair?'

Ayden shook his head. 'We were just wondering how you did that.'

Dominic had his head tilted to the side, as if she'd done something that he didn't even think was physically possible and he was trying to figure out if it was or not.

'You boys are strange. I've been braiding my hair since I was five. It's actually easier now; I cut it about a week ago. It used to be down to my knees.'

'Crazy,' remarked Dominic. 'Stark raving mad.'

'You're one to talk,' Kyarri retorted, already at ease with these madcap boys. They weren't really any different that her friends at home.

'We're gonna be late, come on!' They ran out of Kyarri's room and down the hall, Kyarri with no idea which way there were headed, but right on the heels of the boys. They ran down corridors and thinner hallways, and even one extremely thin passage that Kyarri knew had to be a secret, their feet pounding the floor. They skidded into the mess hall and quick marched to the seats that the other boys held for them. As soon as their bottoms hit the bench, the training master walked in.

After Lord Padraig had said the morning's prayer, they all began to eat, chatter and the clinking of cutlery filling the hall. Kyarri filled her plate with food and dug in, feeling much happier than she had the day before. Then, three boys sauntered into the hall.

'Who are they?' asked Kyarri, as the training master told the boys to see him after the meal.

'Tristan of Runnerspring, Emmet of Tirrsmont and Jerel of Disart. In other words, trouble.'

Everyone stared at the newcomers, wondering why they were so late on their very first day. Slowly, the chatter in the hall began again and the tardy boys faded from mind.

The older boys were all paying attention to Kyarri and William, as the newcomers, asking them a million questions, about their lives and what they knew about fighting and riding and the stuff they'd be doing in classes. Kyarri fielded these questions as best she could without revealing who her guardians were, and that she already knew something about archery and swordplay. Instead, she questioned them back, about the schedule, the teachers, what they'd be learning, and they answered her questions as best they could. Then, they all took their trays to the dishwashers and went their separate directions, Kyarri following her sponsor, Dominic.

'Where are we going?'

'Right now? I'm showing you how to get from the mess to the page's wing. Then I'm going to take a good look at your boots and riding gear. If you need anything, we'll go to the tailors,' he replied.

Kyarri thought for a second, biting her lip, then said 'Dominic?'

'Call me Dom.'

'Dom?'

'Yeah?'

'I'd kind of like to go visit my grandfather today. He lives in the palace, and I haven't seen him for months, but I don't know where his rooms are. I know that you'll know, but you have to promise not to get all weird on me about it, or tell the other boys. I think that Prince Jasson already knows, but I don't want everyone else knowing.'

'And your grandfather would be…?'

'Sir Myles of Olau.'

Dom stared at Kyarri for a second, then shook his head. 'You are just full of surprises, aren't you?' When Kyarri didn't answer, he just smiled a little. 'Yeah, we can go see Sir Myles this afternoon. He's one of my favourite teachers, along with Master Numair, although he can sometimes be a little unnerving.'

Kyarri stifled a giggle and ended up making a small sound, like someone stepping on a mouse.

'Don't tell me you're related to him, too,' Dom joked.

'Well, in a manner of speaking…' Kyarri replied. Dom stared at her, causing him to walk straight into the first-year page, Ivath of Kennan, who gave a frightened yelp and ran off. 'Dom, please don't tell the other boys. It's hard enough being The Girl. I don't want them thinking I'm stuck up, or that they're favouring me in lessons. They aren't like that. I just have to be even more careful in their classes, because I know that they'll come down on me with both feet if I misbehave or don't do my homework.'

Dom just shook his head as they reached Kyarri's door. 'Sometime, you're going to have to explain all of this to me…' he trailed off, seeing that the door was ajar.

Kyarri muttered a curse under her breath, knowing that this did not bode well. She went to push the door open but Dom grabbed her arm, pointing at the top of the door frame. Sure enough, there was a bucket balanced on the top of the door. Dom reached up and took it down; it was full of slops. He set it down to the side of the hallway and opened the door carefully.

The room was a mess. Everything that could have been knocked over, ripped, or pulled apart had been. Her mattress and blankets had been slashed to pieces, her bags were all ripped open, their contents sometimes ripped and others just spread around the room. One bag had been tipped out the window and ground into the dirt. Her weapons cleaning kit had been opened and its contents dumped out, and her whetstone, a gift from George along with the dagger, was gone. Kyarri thanked the gods that she always wore her dagger, so that it was safe. Painted on the wall in a huge, messy scrawl were the words 'Go Home.'

She cocked her head at it thoughtfully. 'I like it. Clear, concise, to the point.'

Dom stared at her. 'They trashed your room and all you do is compliment the message they painted on your wall?'

'What else am I going to do? Cry? Throw a tantrum and leave? I was stupid; I forgot to lock my door. Next time, I'll remember.' He just stared at her.

'You aren't mad?'

'Oh, I'm mad. They took my whetstone. It was a present from George, and I could never afford another one that good.' He still just stared. 'D'you mind if I take five minutes to at least get my clothes into my room before we go?'

Without waiting for an answer, Kyarri climbed out the window and gathered up the dirt-smeared garments, which included her favourite light summer dress, in a pretty light blue. It had a rip straight through the skirt. She sighed as she climbed back through the window and dumped the pile of clothes into her laundry basket. 'I've got a lot of sewing to do before I have all my clothes back.'

'Never mind that, one of the maids will do it. You have one assigned to you, don't you?'

'Mhm, but I think she's afraid of me.'

Dominic laughed and started to take apart the bedclothes, folding each as neatly as he could. 'First stop after this is to see Salma. She's in charge of the pages' wing; she'll have your bed fixed up and that message cleaned off by lunchtime.'

'Thanks,' Kyarri said, putting the clean clothes that needed mending in one pile and the ones that didn't in another.

'At least we know who did it,' said Dom conversationally.

'The ones who were late to breakfast?' Kyarri asked.

'Yup. Tristan' and Jerel's fathers came here with Lady Keladry, and they _hated _her. Apparently, they've passed it on to their sons. Emmet's whole family are conservative, and they all hate the idea of lady knights. I wouldn't be surprised if their parents are all in on this, giving them pointers.'

'So they're the ones to watch out for.'

'Yup.' Dom stood from the edge of the ruined mattress and stretched his arms in the air, just as Kyarri finished sorting her clothes. 'Let's go see Salma. She'll have this all fixed and you can unpack properly this afternoon.'

Kyarri was careful to lock both her window and her door, checking them both at least twice before leaving. Dom led her down the hall and knocked on an unmarked door. It opened to reveal a small, comfortable smiling woman.

'What can I do for you, lad?' she asked Dom.

'Not for me, Salma. This is Kyarri of Pirate's Swoop. She just got here, and someone thought that it would be funny to trash her room and write on the walls. Her bed's been completely shredded.'

Salma smiled wryly at Kyarri. 'Forgot to lock your door?'

'I'm sorry, Miss. I know it causes extra work, but we were running late and I was so excited for my first day, and it just went straight out of my head.'

'That's all right, I understand. And there's no need to 'Miss' me, my name is Salma.' The woman took Kyarri's hand and squeezed it. 'If you ever need anything, even just to talk, you know where I am.'

'Thanks.' Kyarri smiled at the woman, glad that there was someone on her side.

'Thanks, Salma, but we have to go. We have tons to do today,' Dom said.

'Goodbye, then. Keep yourselves out of trouble!'

Dom grinned. 'Who, me? Trouble?'

Salma laughed, a big, happy laugh. 'Oh, scat, you.'

Dom led the way down the hall. 'She seems really nice,' Kyarri remarked.

'She is. Whatever you need, you can go to her, even if it's advice.' He grinned sheepishly. 'Gods know I did last year, when I was fighting with Ayden.'

They continued on their way, talking and laughing, building the beginnings of a friendship.

After lunch, they declined the invitations of the other boys to go out riding with them, instead explaining that they were going to visit Kyarri's grandfather. So when the meal ended, the rest of the group headed off to the stables while Dom and Kyarri went climbing staircases to where her grandfather lived.

'Are you ever going to explain your family to me?' Dom asked as they climbed. 'Because to me, it seems a little bit mysterious.'

'You have to promise not to get weird on me about it,' Kyarri said. 'And not to tell the others.'

Dom held up his hands. 'Swear by the Goddess.'

'Okay. I was raised by my four guardians; Lady Alanna, her husband Baron George, Mistress Daine and Master Numair. My grandparents are Sir Myles, his wife Eleni, Numair's parents (although I don't think I've ever met them), and Daine's parents.'

'Who are gods,' Dom said, carefully not looking at her.

'Well, yes. But I've never met them, either. Well, her mother, once, I think. A long time ago; it's kind of fuzzy in my mind. Anyways, so those are my grandparents, and then my godsparents are Their Majesties, King Jonathon and Queen Thayet.'

Dom whistled. 'You may not know anyone here, but that's some kind of backup.'

Kyarri blushed. 'Well, look at you! 'Lanna is your godsmother, the King is your godsfather, and your father is the Knight Commander of the King's Own and your mother the Commander of the Riders!'

'" 'Lanna"?' asked Dom, amused.

'I mean Lady Alanna, the Lioness.' Kyarri blushed further; she hadn't meant to use the nickname.

'Still, "'Lanna"?'

'I was three! I couldn't say her name properly, and it just sort of stuck.'

Dom smiled. 'That's kind of cute. I'll never look at her the same way again. I'll hear people telling stories of the fabled Lioness, and all I'll think is "'Lanna".'

'Would you quit mocking me?' Kyarri asked.

'Fine. We're here, anyways.' They had stopped in front of a door bearing Myles' name.

Kyarri knocked and Eleni answered. Kyarri threw herself into a hug, with Dom standing there looking awkward. Then, she ran into the room and hugged her grandfather, who was sitting on the couch.

'Grandfather, how are you?'

'Fine, fine, completely fine. And how about you? You're a page now!'

'I'm so excited!' Kyarri jabbered away, so happy to be near her grandfather, who she thought was one of the most interesting people she knew.

'And who's this?' Myles asked, gesturing to Dom, who was lurking awkwardly in the shadows by the doorway.

'Come on in, Dom. Grandfather, this is Dominic of Goldenlake, my sponsor.'

'Oh, yes I can see now. Come, sit. Would you two like a cup of tea?'

'No, thank you. I still have to unpack. I just came to say hello, and I have letters for you.' Kyarri drew them out of her pocket, where they were a little crumpled but otherwise fine. 'One from 'Lanna,' she glared at Dom, daring him to comment. 'And one from Numy, something about a book he needs for some experiment.'

Kyarri heard Dom behind her choke a little when she said "Numy", but she ignored him. Instead, she kissed her grandfather on his wrinkled cheek. 'I have to be off now. I'll see you soon!'

'Goodbye, Kyarri. Look after her, Dominic.'

'I will, sir.' Dominic stood and bowed to Myles, who laughed.

Kyarri kissed her grandmother goodbye, vowing to come for tea soon, and the two pages left. They were barely out the door when Dom erupted into a fit of laughter.

'"Numy"?'

Kyarri huffed impatiently. 'I was three, remember? Just let it go.'

Dom was still chuckling as they walked back to the page's wing. 'The most powerful wizard in the realm, "Numy".'

'Oh, shut up.'

Fifteen minutes later, they were in Kyarri's room, which smelled strongly of paint remover. Kyarri was folding her unripped clothes and putting them away while Dom sat on the new bed, watching.

'So, if the Lioness and Numair and all of them are your adopted parents, then where are your real parents?'

Kyarri thought for a moment. Daine had explained to her about men and women, and how babies were made. She'd found it extremely embarrassing, but better than not knowing.

'I don't know,' she said finally. Dom stared at her, incredulous. 'I don't think I ever asked.'

'You are some kind of girl.'

'What do you mean by that?' she asked.

'I mean that I have sisters. They're insanely chatty, about stupid things like fashions and marriages, and they overreact to every little thing. If they'd come in here and seen their room all smashed up like that, they would have had a complete breakdown. But you just shrug and say "Well that's inconvenient".'

'If I were one of those sorts of girls, I would have gone to the convent. Do you remember when you met me last, at that party at the Swoop?'

Dominic laughed. 'Yes. The other girls sat inside doing needlepoint and complimenting each others dresses while you came outside and got in a mud fight with us. Your dress was totally ruined.'

'Exactly. Now, do you think that a girl like that would be content at the convent? I was taught to shoot by one of the finest archers in the kingdom. I was given my horse by Onua Chamtong, horsewoman for the Queen's Riders. My adoptive mother is the _Lioness_. I knew what I was getting into when I started.'

'When you put it like that, I kind of have to agree.'

'Exactly.'

Dinner was filled with laughter as Kyarri got to know the boys, getting more and more comfortable around them. She could see already that this year was going to be fun, and she fell asleep smiling.


	7. The First Morning and Ugly Truths

The next morning, the morning of the first day of page training, Kyarri was up at dawn. She did her morning exercises still in her nightshirt, doing deep knee bends, twists, and floor press-ups to strengthen her arms.

The maid knocked on the door shortly before the first bell. Kyarri unlocked it and thanked the maid, who introduced herself as Yukumi Wright. Kyarri could see the obvious Yamani blood in the maid, who bobbed a polite curtsy before putting on Kyarri's wash water. Kyarri washed quickly and dressed in practice clothes, braiding her hair back tightly and wetting errant curls back into place.

She did another set of floor press-ups before tucking her dagger into her boot-top; she wasn't about to leave her room without it, and they didn't wear weapons belts in training until they had their own swords.

By the time the first bell went, Kyarri was ready for her first day, with her afternoon's uniform laid out for her and everything, her new boots on her feet. She left her room, locking it carefully behind her, and thumped on Dom's door. He opened it and let her in.

His eyes were bleary, his hair sleep-rumpled and he still had creases from his sheets on one cheek as he rummaged through his drawers for a shirt. Unlike Kyarri, he hadn't taken the time to fold or organize his clothes, instead cramming them in as messily as humanly possible. Finding one, he pulled it over his head and then crammed his feet into his boots.

'Come on, Dom, let's not be late to breakfast on my first day of training. Please?'

'I'm coming, I'm coming.' Dom closed his window and door, but unlike her, had no need to lock them; no one was going to trash his room.

Kyarri skipped down the hall, while Dom shuffled. 'What is there to be happy about?' he grumbled.

'It's a beautiful morning. It's my first day of page training. Nothing extraordinarily bad has happened to me yet, and I'm going to be a knight!'

'Nothing bad has happened yet? They turned your room to ribbons and you got bit by a snake!'

'Yeah, but that's _ordinary_ bad stuff. I expected stuff like that to happen. Nothing extraordinarily bad has happened. Like, I haven't died or gotten kicked out before lessons even start, or anything bad like that. Actually, it's gone better than I expected. I didn't think that anyone would want to be friends with The Girl. Besides, I like ribbons.'

'You're crazy, Kyarri.'

'Is that a bad thing?'

He just shook his head, muttering about naïve youngsters. Breakfast was an average meal, but quieter than most, and the boys were crankier, except for one. Owen of Rosemark was happy and laughing, teasing the other boys and being silly.

'O?' Jasson said.

'Yeah?'

'Stop it.'

Owen sighed a huge, world-weary sigh. 'Fine, if I have to.'

'You do,' all the boys chorused. Owen threw up his hands and rolled his eyes in a way that reminded Kyarri so much of Numair that she laughed.

After breakfast, they headed to the practice courts. The boys were all a little more awake now and were roughhousing, joking and shoving each other. Kyarri laughed at their antics. 'First class is hand-to-hand combat, taught by the Shangs,' Dom explained.

Sure enough, when they got to the yard, two muscular warriors stood there. One, a large smiling Yamani man, did the talking. 'I am Hakuin Seastone, the Shang Horse. This is my partner, the Shang Tiger.' He gestured to the woman beside him, a wiry K'mir in her early thirties. 'First years are with me. The rest of you, go practice your strikes and blocks, high, middle and low with her.' The second, third, and fourth years peeled off to go practice, leaving Kyarri and the other two first years with Hakuin.

'Who can tell me the first thing to learn in hand-to-hand combat?' he asked the pages.

_Falling_, Kyarri thought. _You have to learn how to fall._ She looked at the other boys, prepared to answer if she had to.

'You,' Hakuin said, pointing at her.

'Falling, sir.'

'That's right. You have to learn how to fall properly, without hurting yourself. What's your name?'

'Kyarri of Pirate's Swoop, sir.'

'Would you care to demonstrate?' Without waiting for an answer, he grabbed her by the wrist and pulled, trying to send her flying. Kyarri was caught by surprise and her body reacted faster than her mind did, twisting her body lower to the ground and yanking his arm, simultaneously hooking one of her legs around him, trying to dump him on the ground. He stumbled then caught his balance, and sent Kyarri flying through the air where she landed, slapping the ground and rolling back to her feet. Only then did her mind catch up with her body, and she was horrified.

'I'm sorry, sir, you startled me, I didn't mean to, sir.' She bowed nervously, waiting for the reprimand. None came. When she looked up, he was grinning broadly. The Shang Tiger, over with the older boys, had seen the whole thing and was roaring with laughter.

'There's one every couple of years, and you always get caught unawares,' the Tiger howled. 'She nearly had you in the dust, even better than the Jesslaw boy did.'

'Oh, hush, you,' Hakuin said, flapping a hand at her. Then, he studied Kyarri carefully. 'That wasn't Yamani fighting.'

'No sir.'

'That was street.'

'Yessir. I was taught by Baron George Cooper, sir.'

Hakuin let out a big laugh. 'Oh, I bet you were. Send him my regards, will you, the next you write to him?'

'Yessir.'

Hakuin turned to the other first years while Kyarri flushed with embarrassment. 'And that is how you get the jump on an old man like me. You saw how she slapped the ground as she fell, palms flat, then rolled? That's what you do. You start by just falling and slapping, we'll learn to roll out of it later.'

The rest of the hour was spent being thrown over and over again, William, Ivath and Kyarri, one after the other, as their falls steadily improved.

After the hour was up, Dominic came to take her to their next class. 'Nice going,' Dominic said, grinning.

'I didn't mean to! Now the others are going to think I think I'm better than them!'

'Relax, Ky.' He said it like 'kee'. 'It happens nearly every year; someone knows a little bit about fighting and Hakuin just never learns. Last year, it was Ayden and Jase both.'

'You think its okay?'

'By tomorrow, they'll have forgotten it,' he reassured her. 'By the way, is it okay if I call you Ky?'

'Yeah, that's okay. Its what my friends at home call me. That being said, if "Ky-Ky" escapes your lips once, just once is all it takes, you'll wish you'd never been born. I don't care if you've had two more years training than me. I'll be angry, and I'm a dab hand with a dagger.'

'Okay, okay. Let's go to archery, before you can scare me further.'

Archery was very much what Kyarri had expected. They were split into groups, all the first years together and the rest by skill and the new pages were given bows. They lined up with the weapons master, Sir Lachran of Mindelan, who watched them draw and shoot their first couple of arrows.

He was impressed by Kyarri's aim and put her in with a different group, a mix of second and third years including Samuel of Tasride, one of Dom's friends, and Emmet of Tirrsmont, one of the ones who had trashed her room. The target was much further away here and there were six or seven pages in the line. Kyarri's first shot she hit the edge of the target. Her second, she hit just to the left of the bull's-eye. She knocked an arrow and drew her bow up, sighting carefully. Daine had taught her how to go fast, barely having to aim, but this was more important. She drew her hand back behind her ear and just as she let go of the string, someone behind her jostled her, sending her arrow way over the top of the target.

'Pirate's Swoop! Pay attention!' barked the weapons master from his place with the other first-years. Kyarri blushed crimson and went to the back of the line. As she passed the boy who'd jostled her, he whispered in her ear; 'Go home, bitch.'

Kyarri held her head up high and joined the end of the line, pretending that she hadn't heard, her cheeks still scarlet with anger and humiliation. Her next shot, she stepped well ahead of the boys behind her and hit the bull's-eye. Dom and Jase, two targets over, were watching and whooped for her. Kyarri grinned and went to the back of the line again.

By the end of the lesson, she was hitting the bull's-eye nearly every time, and Ivath, one of the other first years, had been brought up to her group. Tiny William of Nond, however, was still struggling to draw a bow that was nearly as tall as he was, to his own frustration as well as Sir Lachran's.

'Is there anything you aren't good at?' Dom said in Kyarri's ear as they headed to staff practice.

'Yep. I'm terrible with staves. Okay with swords, but for some reason, spears, staves, any sort of pole weapon and I'm lost, always getting my fingers smashed. I'm absolutely terrified to try tilting.'

'Well, that's a relief, anyways. I was afraid that you were going to be better than me at everything by the end of the year.' Dom joked, grinning.

Kyarri elbowed him. 'I just got a head start on the others. They'll soon catch up, and then you'll see. I'm not that good.'

'I beg to differ. It took me two full weeks to learn how to fall my first year, even with Jase helping me in the evenings. You nearly dumped the teacher in the dust on your first day!'

'Shut up and pass me a staff.'

The pages were paired up and told to start high, middle, and low blocks and strikes after seeing them demonstrated by some of the older pages. Kyarri consistently got her fingers bashed, and by the end of the lesson, they were mottled purple and blue and swollen, and Ky was bright red with shame.

As they walked away from the training yard, she showed her hands to Dom and Ayden. 'See? Terrible.' They winced in sympathy.

'Here,' Ayden said, taking her by the wrist. He held out his other hand, glowing with cherry red light.

'You shouldn't. I'm a page, I can deal with it.'

'Ky, you have to be able to hold a pen on your first day. After this, you're on your own, though.' Kyarri sighed and relented, letting him take down the swelling and stiffness, although he left all the pretty colours. 'Hey. What's with your fingers?' he asked.

'What d'you mean?'

'Your nails are all shiny and silvery,' Ayden said, examining them.

Ky yanked her hands away and shoved them in her pockets. 'It's nothing.' She cast around for a change of subject. 'So, time for horses?'

Ayden and Dom glanced at each other, then dropped the subject. 'Yeah, horses. First day is always way boring though; all we get to do is walk them around the yard, to make sure that the little ones know how not to fall off.'

'You do know how not to fall off, right?'

Kyarri sighed exaggeratedly. 'Yes, I do. I've been riding for as long as I can remember.'

'Do you have your own horse?' Ayden asked.

'Mhm.'

Not very long later, Dom was finished tacking up his horse and came to check on Kyarri.

'Ky, are you okay in there…' he trailed off, staring at her horse. 'Ky, that isn't a horse. It's a mountain.'

Kyarri giggled. 'She's perfectly friendly. Go on, Chavi, say hello.' The horse whuffled as Dom petted her hesitantly on the nose.

'Chavi?' he asked.

'She's named for a K'miri goddess, Chavi West-wind. Onua used to tell me stories about the K'miri gods and I liked the ones about Chavi. Besides, she's known for horse magic.'

'Do you need me to check your tack?' Dom asked.

'Yes, please. I've been doing it since I was little, but better safe that punishment work.'

They finished and went outside in just enough time to make it there before the teacher, who inspected all their tack carefully. As he reached Kyarri, his eyebrows disappeared into his hairline. 'Are you sure you can ride that horse…'

'Kyarri of Pirate's Swoop, sir. And I've been riding her since I was five, sir.'

He made a small noise that sounded like 'hmph', then checked her tack. Proclaiming it "fine", he went to the next page.

'Sure you can handle that much horse?' sneered a voice behind her. She turned to see Jerel of Disart smiling unpleasantly. 'I mean, it's a pretty big horse for a little _girl,_ especially one who's not even noble.'

Kyarri looked away, ignoring him.

'What, too scared to fight back, commoner?'

'Jerel, lay off,' Ayden said angrily. 'She has as much right to be here as you do.'

'I don't agree,' Jerel sneered. 'A common girl who has been treated like a princess? She has _no_ right to be here.'

'She's as noble as you or I, Jerel. Don't you know her name? _Pirate's Swoop_. Her father is a Baron, her mother is the Lioness, who comes from Trebond, which, in case you'd forgotten, is in the Book of Gold. There have been Trebonds here for as long as there have been Naxens and Queenscoves.'

'Is that what she told you? If I were you, I'd ask again.' His face was twisted in an ugly look. Kyarri's face had drained of colour now, taking on the pale of her anger. It felt icy, coursing down her spine, making her want to teach this pig a lesson, but knowing he was right; she wasn't really noble. She'd never thought of it before, but it was true. She didn't know who her parents were. 'Bastard,' Jerel spat at her.

Kyarri was an inch away from snapping when the horse master remounted his horse in front of the group and called for them to mount up. Kyarri did, putting one foot in the stirrup and bouncing lithely into the saddle, still livid with rage.


	8. I Fell Down

**A/N: You can tell by the title that this is going to have a fight scene. You know, before I started writing this story, I never realized how much I like writing fight scenes. It just goes to show, you learn something new every day.**

**Thanks go to all my luminous reviewers; you guys all deserve cookies in a big way. **

**And I apologize for the way the chapters have been switching themselves around on the site. I was having issues; I accidentally put these chapters up in my Scorpius/Rose romance fic. Whoops!  
**

After an hour of walking their horses around the yard, following instructions called out by the horse master, they led their horses into the stable and untacked them. Kyarri was still angry, but the motions of untacking, grooming, and cleaning her tack calmed her some. She did them quickly but well and marched out of the stables ahead of the boys.

The hill up to the page's wing was steep, but it was the quickest way to her bath and she ran it fast, pouring the last of her anger into the motion, feeling the wind on her face. Just as she reached the door to the page's wing, she heard running footsteps behind her and spun around, ready for a trick.

It was only Dom, running up the hill after her.

'Are you okay?' he panted.

'Fine,' Kyarri replied coolly. 'Why wouldn't I be?'

'Ayden told me what Jerel said.'

'It didn't bother me.'

'Listen, Ky, he's a pig, don't listen to him. You have as much right to be here as any of us.'

'I told you, I'm fine.'

'Why aren't you out of breath?' he demanded.

She grinned at him. 'Every day this summer, I ran between Numair's tower and the Swoop at least twice. Its four miles through the forest, with rocky ground, roots and hills. That little hill was nothing compared to that.'

Dom shook his head, having regained his breath. 'You're crazy, Ky.'

'Go. You'll be late for lunch if you don't bathe quick.' He ran off down the hall to the men's baths.

Kyarri's bath was waiting for her when she got in, thanks to the maid Yukumi, who had also set out fresh soap and towels. Kyarri scrubbed every inch of herself quickly and jumped out, dried herself off, and dressed in her palace uniform, one of several that Dom had taken her to get at the tailor's the day before. She was just tying the end of her damp braid when the boys thumped on the door. She opened it and followed them to lunch, locking the door behind her.

Lunch was quiet at the beginning, the boys tired after their morning of exercise, but after they'd gotten some food into them, they got louder.

'Ky, what did you think of your first morning?' Prince Jasson asked.

'I liked it, your Highness,' she replied. She was still a bit nervous about slipping up in front of the prince.

'You have to quit doing that,' the prince said.

'Doing what, your Highness?'

'That. Here, I'm Jasson.'

'Yes, your Hi-Jasson.' All the boys laughed and Kyarri smiled sheepishly.

They left the mess hall, climbing stairs. 'Reading and Writing is next, followed by Mathematics. Are you any good at them?' Ayden asked.

'I can read and write fairly well, but I'm almost as bad at maths as I am at staves.'

'You should ask Owen for help, if you need it. He's a whiz at maths, I don't know how he does it.'

'Okay, thanks.'

The teacher in Reading and Writing, an orange-robed Mithran priest, didn't believe that should could read and write and made her prove it for nearly the entire lesson, before setting her two chapters in a very thick novel to read and write a summary for, by the following day. The priest in Mathematics was even less pleased with Kyarri's level of skill, as well as her gender, and assigned her three very complicated problems, only one of which she finished in class. The other two were to be done by the following day.

Leaving Mathematics, she already felt way over her head. 'What's next?' she asked Dom.

'Magic. Are you Gifted?'

Kyarri shook her head. 'I have the Sight, but no Gift.'

'Then you're in the class with me. Ayden and the other Gifted ones get classes in how to use their Gifts.' They turned down the corridor and climbed down one set of stairs. 'So, the Sight, yeah? That must come in handy.'

'Sometimes. I can tell when people are lying, unless they have the Gift themselves. I can tell if water is clean to drink, if someone unGifted means me harm, sometimes. If someone is pregnant or Gifted or ill or a god. I can also see over long distances clearly.'

'That sounds pretty useful.'

'You'd be surprised. There's only so much you can do with it, and sometimes, you don't want to know that someone is lying to you.'

'There is that,' Dom said as they turned into a classroom. Standing at the front was Tkaa, the seven-foot-tall basilisk who was friends with Daine and Numair. Kyarri smiled at the basilisk as she settled into her seat, looking forward to the class ahead.

After magic, it was history with Kyarri's grandfather Myles, who conducted his class informally and spent much of it debating the Code of Chivalry with the pages.

The last class of the day was etiquette with Master Upton Oakbridge, the stodgiest, stuffiest old man imaginable. He sniffed haughtily upon seeing Kyarri and then made all the pages practice bows until they were dizzy. He assigned Kyarri Yamani style bows to practice and have perfected, by the next day.

They had a bit of time before supper, and Kyarri used it to change quickly into everyday clothes and practice her bows in front of the mirror, with Yukumi looking on, a tiny smile on her face. Then, Kyarri dashed off to supper, making it just in time for the third time that day.

'So, whose room do we study in tonight?' Owen asked the group at dinner. 'I nominate Sam.' He nodded at the dark-haired, quiet Samuel of Tasride.

'Why me?' Sam demanded.

'Because your room is always clean.'

'Fine, but only for tonight. Tomorrow night, Jesslaw gets to host.

'Sounds good to me,' Ayden said.

'You know where Sam's room is?' Dom asked Kyarri. She nodded; she knew that it was just down the hall and around the corner from her own.

'Good. Then get your books and meet us there.' The pages took their trays to the servers and left, splitting off to their separate rooms to get their books. Kyarri got her books and ran to join the boys congregating in Sam's room. They had just settled in when Kyarri realized that she'd forgotten the sheet with her maths problems on it, and she wanted to do that when she could get Owen's help with them.

She excused herself and ran back to her room. She was coming out of her room again when something hit her from behind, straight in the middle of her spine, knocking the breath from her lungs. She spun, gasping, to meet the leering faces of Tristan of Runnerspring, Emmet of Tirrsmont and Jerel of Disart, along with Jerel's first-year, Ivath of Kennan.

Tristan threw another punch at her, which she dodged, ducking up into his swing to punch him in the face. He hadn't been expecting her speed and didn't even have a chance to lean back a bit; Ky felt bones break under her hand.

Meanwhile, Emmet had come up beside her and dodged her kick, getting her in the face and splitting her eyebrow. She blinked blood from her eye as she swept Emmet's feet out from under him and turned to kick Jerel in the belly. His dinner came back up, all over Tristan, who was still on the floor clutching his broken nose. He stood up, then slipped in the vomit and went down again, landing hard.

Ky whirled just as Emmet grabbed her ankle, sending her off balance to hit the ground as well. Emmet kicked her in the ribs, once, twice, an ugly look on his face, before Kyarri rolled away. She stood and punched Emmet hard in face, missing his nose but definitely causing some damage. Tristan, Jerel and Emmet came at her at the same time and her side rang with pain, telling her than something was probably broken. Tristan managed to catch one of her arms and Jerel the other, holding her while Emmet punched her, over and over, right in the middle, hitting her ribs, which Kyarri was now pretty sure were broken. She was struggling to get away, fighting for breath when they stopped, hearing footsteps around the corner. They dropped her on the ground and ran, Kyarri's head hitting the flagstones of the floor hard.

Kyarri was gasping for breath, her right side on fire as people came over; her friends from one side and palace servants, towing Jerel and Emmet, from the other.

'Ky? Are you okay?' asked Dom.

Kyarri nodded. 'Never better,' she gasped, then winced as a fresh wave of pain shot through her right side.

Ayden was there in an instant, his hands ringed in red fire. He touched them to her skin and she could feel something funny on top of the pain as he sifted through her in his mind.

'She's got several cracked ribs, and one of them pierced her lung.'

'She's got to come see Lord Padraig!' one of the servants insisted.

'She's got a hole in her lung!' Dom yelled back.

'Bring her anyways.' The servant was smaller than the boys, but much more muscular and with a look on his face like what he wanted to happen ought to happen _right away_, or he would be extremely displeased. The boys looked at Ayden and he sighed.

'I can't fix it, or take away the pain, but I can hold it in place with magic so it doesn't get any worse while you move her.' He pulled up the edge of her shirt and placed his hands directly on her skin. Kyarri felt a funny tug that hurt quite a lot and her ears roared, then it settled back to the level of excruciating pain that it had been before.

'I'll take her.' Jasson slid one arm under her shoulders and the other under her knees and lifted her as gently as he could. 'Ky, you weigh nothing. If I dropped you, you'd probably float to the ground.'

'I'm going to pound them into a pulp,' Dom growled as he and Jasson followed the servants towards the training master's office. When they got there, the other boys were already waiting outside. They growled when they saw Kyarri, Jasson and Dom, but one of the servants was still there, so they didn't dare say anything.

'Pirate's Swoop!' called the training master. 'Come in here.'

'Put me down,' Kyarri said, her voice barely more than a whisper.

'You can't even stand, Ky,' Jason began, but Kyarri cut him off.

'Put me down.' He obeyed, reluctantly. She swayed on her feet and he stayed at arms length in case she collapsed, following her into the office.

'Page Jasson, I don't believe you were involved in the fight.'

'What fight, sir?' asked the prince innocently. 'I don't know what happened. I came around the corner and Page Kyarri was lying on the ground.

'I fell down.' Kyarri whispered, fighting to stay conscious.

'You fell down,' the training master asked, disbelieving.

'Yessir. I fell down in the hallway.'

'And what about those other boys out there, did they fall down too?'

'I couldn't say, sir.' Kyarri gasped out, her voice barely at a whisper now.

'So the ground split your eyebrow, bruised your face, and, by the look of things, cracked some of your ribs as well.'

'Sir, Ayden has the Gift, and he says that one of her ribs went into her lung, sir.' Jasson said.

'Page Kyarri, are you _sure_ that that's what happened?'

'Yessir, I fell d-' she dropped into a faint and Jasson caught her.

'Very well, take her to the infirmary, and send the next one in. When she wakes up, remind her that no fighting is to be tolerated here, and tell her that she has one bell of work in the stables on Sunday, mucking out stalls.'

'Yessir.' Jasson said. 'I would bow, sir, but it's difficult while holding her, sir.'

'Go!'

'Yessir.'

Jasson left the training master's office, to where Dom was anxiously waiting in the hallway. 'Well?' he demanded.

'She fell down.' Jasson explained. Dom rolled his eyes.

'Oh, I bet she did, more than once.'

'She has one bell of punishment work, and we're to take her to the infirmary.'

Dom stamped his foot in anger as they headed off. 'She passed out?'

'Yeah, she was standing there, in the middle of saying "I fell down" for what I think was the fourth time, and she just dropped. Lord Padraig is not pleased.'

'I thought he'd be jumping for joy. The Girl is apparently a trouble maker, which would give him an excuse to get rid of her.'

They had arrived at the infirmary. Dom pushed the door open and Jasson carried Ky in. Duke Baird was at the desk in front, shuffling some papers around, apparently searching for something, but he looked up when they came in.

'Uh-oh, what's she done to herself now?'

'She fell down, sir.'

'Oh, I'll bet she did. Is anyone else coming to see me?'

'Probably, Your Grace. She broke at least one nose.'

'Well, come on in, lay her down here and let's have a look at her.' Jasson obeyed, laying Ky on the cot. The Duke lay his hands on her, then sighed. 'Mild concussion, four cracked ribs, one puncturing the lung and severe bruising. They got her pretty good.'

'There were three of them, Your Grace, two of them fourth years.'

'That's unsportsmanlike. This is going to take a few minutes, you two go wait outside.'

They obeyed. As soon as they were out of earshot, Dom began berating himself. 'We've got to look after her better. I'm her sponsor, I'm supposed to make sure she stays out of trouble and she gets jumped the first day. I'm not doing my job. My dad is gonna kill me when he hears about this.'

'Mine, too. And my grandfather. We need to get them back. Three against one is just wrong.'

'Boys? Come here for a minute,' the duke called. They came in at a run. 'I want to keep her here overnight, just in case. Come and check on her in the morning, first thing, will you?'

They nodded. Jasson took off her boots and the boys pulled up her blankets for the second time in three days.

**A/N: A little bit dramatic, but sometimes a little bit of drama is fun. Isn't it?**


	9. Settling In

**A/N: Okay, so I know that I used to update twice a day, and now none for a week.**

**That is because I am working on my novel. It is difficult, but will be worth it when I'm done.**

**I have also been looking for work, which is exhausting and tiring and I have to wear a stupid skirt. I hate skirts. Job hunting sucks, especially when you're fifteen with no retail experience and a nose stud.**

**I like my piercing, thank you very much. I think it's pretty.**

**Thanks for reading! **

** -Elle  
**

The healers woke Kyarri several times during the night to shine a light in her eyes and squint at her, which didn't please her very much. Finally, an hour before dawn, they let her drift into a proper sleep.

Shortly after dawn, two boys crept into her room. 'She's sleeping.'

'Should we wake her?'

'We were supposed to check on her. How do you check on her without waking her up? You can't tell by looking.'

_Thunk. _'Ow!'

'Wha'?' Kyarri asked thickly.

Jasson thumped Dom on the back of the head. 'Way to go, you woke her up.'

'Oh. Hi,' Kyarri said. She sat up and winced. Her ribs were fixed, but still a little bruised, the muscles around them stiff. 'What happened? Where am I? What are you guys doing here?'

'They jumped you, remember? Tristan, Emmet, and Jerel. They broke your ribs and one of them made a hole in your lung. You told the training master again and again that you fell down, then you passed out. We brought you here, to the infirmary, where Duke Baird said he wanted you to stay the night, because you hit your head, too. Now, it's morning.'

'Oh. Well, um. Thanks.' There was a minute of silence, and then both Jasson and Kyarri spoke at once.

'Are you all right?'

'We don't want to be late-'

Then they both stopped. 'I think I'm fine.'

'That's good. We brought you fresh clothes, in case you were.' He handed over the bundle that he held. 'Your maid gave them to us.'

'Okay. Thanks. Now scat; I need to get changed.' They obeyed, drawing the curtain behind them and walking a little ways away.

Kyarri took off her shirt and took a good look at her ribs, whistling appreciatively. A large, multicoloured bruise filled her right side from the bottom of her rib cage almost up to her armpit, spreading across her belly. She twisted to see how far across her back it went, then winced. By the feel of it, she was bruised all the way back, but she wouldn't know for sure until she had a good look in her mirror. She pulled on the fresh shirt carefully, and the loincloth and breeches. She opened the curtain to talk to the boys while she put on her socks and boots.

'They really got me,' she said, tugging on her left boot.

'Yup. You got them all right, too,' Dom said.

'Really?'

'You broke Tristan's nose, one of Jerel's ribs, gave Emmet a black eye and we figure you hurt his back, judging by the way he's hobbling around. He didn't get to come to the infirmary, though, because nothing was actually broken. One of the trainee healers did Tristan's nose and it's more crooked than the Trickster.'

'Yeah? Good.' Her face had a determined set to it. 'I'll get them even better next time.'

'Hopefully there won't be a next time,' Jasson said. Ky looked at him as if he were crazy.

'What, you think they'll give up after that? Because if you do, you're cracked. I've just made them angrier.'

'Well, if there is a next time,' said Dom. 'We're gonna be there.' Kyarri opened her mouth to argue, but Jasson cut her off.

'Come on, we're gonna be late for breakfast.'

They made it to breakfast with time to spare, getting there earlier than most of their friends. Ayden was already there when they arrived.

'Hey, how are you?'

'Fine. I just fell down, after all. People fall every day.'

'Uh-huh, whatever. They healed your ribs, and your lungs, yes?'

'Yep. I'm fine, just a little stiff, and I've still got a wicked bump on the back of my head.'

'Sounds like training is going to be fun for you this morning,' Owen remarked, just arriving.

'Hope it's worse for Emmet.' They all watched him hobble in. He looked at their table and saw them all glaring at him, then quickly looked away.

'Don't worry, Ky, we'll get him back,' said Sam, who'd arrived with Owen.

'Yeah, they won't know what hit them.' Ayden's eyes were filled with malice.

Kyarri sighed impatiently. 'Guys, this is really nice and all, but I can fight my own battles. Just because I'm a girl, it doesn't make me need protection.'

Jasson looked at her with a funny smile on his face. 'If you were a boy and they'd done this to you, we'd still beat them to a pulp. It's the principle of the thing; you're one of us. They went after one of us; therefore, they get all of us.'

'Just don't, okay? I don't want you guys getting in trouble on my behalf.'

'Speaking of trouble, his lordship wanted me to tell you that you have one bell of work in the stables on Sunday.'

'I didn't get any homework done last night!' Kyarri groaned. 'I'm gonna be in so much trouble.'

'Bring your math to lunch, and I'll help you with it,' Owen suggested. 'That way, all you'll have is Reading and Writing and Etiquette to work on.'

'I practiced my bows last night, before dinner. They're passable, so I'll just have my Reading and Writing overdue.'

'Which you can do tonight, along with tomorrow's homework. Breathe; they expect you to not always have your work done.'

Kyarri winced her way through her morning classes, doing especially poorly in archery, to the point where the arms master threatened to move her back down to the first-years target if she wasn't doing better the next day. Her fingers got bashed so many times in staff fighting that Ayden took pity on her again.

She crammed on her Mathematics and got it done during lunch, as well as a very poor summary of the first chapter of the very thick book she'd been assigned.

During the afternoon, the Mathematics teacher told her that her work was too messy and she needed to copy it out again, and gave her two more questions, for the next day. The Reading and Writing teacher wanted summaries for the first four chapters of the book, for the next day. Myles wanted her to memorize and be able to discuss the Code of Ten, for the next day, and Master Oakbridge wanted her to memorize how to address a King, Prince, Duke, Earl, Lord and knight, for the next day.

By the time they had all gathered in Ayden's room after supper, Kyarri was half asleep on her feet and swamped with work.

'Do the math and writing now,' Dom advised. 'It's easier to memorize when you're falling asleep than write.'

She took his advice, getting Owen to explain the maths to her again, because she'd already forgotten since lunch. She completed those questions neatly, and did her Reading and Writing work, too. She memorized the addresses for Etiquette, but fell asleep leaning on Jasson's shoulder before she was able to memorize the Code of Ten. She stumbled off to bed, exhausted.

Slowly, she adjusted to the schedule. Some nights, she managed to complete her work; others, she didn't and was assigned more work because of it. By Friday, she was hitting the bull's-eye every time in archery and Sir Lachran had praised her, moving her up to an even more difficult target. She understood the Mathematics problems that she was assigned every night, and she found them easy, but time consuming. Etiquette was difficult, because everything she'd ever learnt before had been from a girl's point of view, things like writing invitations and accepting invitations to dance. History involved lots of memorization and little writing, which Kyarri was thankful for, because at the rate her hands were getting bashed in weapons classes, they'd fall off if she had to write any more.

Mid-morning on Sunday, after she'd done her bell of work mucking out the stables, she took her staff and banged on Dom's door. He opened it.

'Dom, would you mind, that is, would you help me…I keep getting my fingers smashed in staff work and I'm not getting any better.'

'Come on in.'

They spent the rest of the morning and part of the afternoon working on her staff work. Slowly, she improved.

Sunday evening, she wrote to her guardians. She wasn't sure what to say, exactly, but she tried to focus on the good.

Alanna, George, Daine and Numy,

I'm doing fine here. I've made lots of friends, and most of the boys don't have much of a problem with me. The ones that do, I just avoid.

I've been moved up with the second and third years in archery and hand to hand combat, and even my staff work is improving, thanks to my friend and sponsor, Dominic of Goldenlake. Hakuin Seastone sends his regards to George; I accidentally almost threw him my first day.

My academic classes are doing pretty well, too. I like magic lessons, and history. I struggle with maths, but Owen of Rosemark helps me, and I'm getting better. Deportment is still hard, because I have to relearn everything, including the dances, from a boy's point of view, which is kind of silly, because I'm never going to be using it.

I fell down once, but I've been fine since then. My friends have been a great help and I've settled in well.

All my love,

Kyarri

Kyarri reread the letter and nodded decisively. It was positive, for the most part, except that bit about falling down. They'd know what she meant, but she didn't have to explain in full, because that could only lead to trouble. This letter would tell them that she was fine.

She sealed it and addressed it, then left it on her desk for Yukumi to find and post before changing into one of her summer dresses. It was early September, but the last few days had been very hot and muggy, and nighttime was no exception. Kyarri shook out her hair with her hands, letting it tumble around her shoulders, and put on a pair of soft leather slippers.

She slipped gently out of her window, keeping her dress tucked between her knees for modesty's sake, even though there was no one around. She had an hour before curfew and she intended to go visit her horse. She tripped lightly across the courtyard, through the archway leading outside and down the hill to the stables. The lanterns were lit, but dim as she manoeuvred her way around the horse dung in the main part of the stable, heading down to the end, where her Chavi was stabled. The mare saw her coming and whickered.

'Hello, beautiful,' Ky whispered, rubbing Chavi's velvety soft nose. 'How are you, girl? I'm sorry I didn't get to ride you today, I was busy, but look what I brought you.' Kyarri reached into a small pocket in her dress and withdrew a couple of lumps of sugar. She held them out for Chavi, who gobbled them up, her lips tickling Kyarri's palm. The girl giggled.

'Hey, you can't be here!' A voice said behind her. She whirled.

'Yes I can.' She squinted through the dimness and realized that it was Jasson.

'Who…Is that Ky?'

'No, it's the crown princess.'

'Sorry Ky, I didn't recognize you, what with the darkness…'

'And the dress and all, I know, I know. It's just too hot out for pants, at least if I don't have to be wearing them.' Kyarri sighed, a little self-consciously.

'Makes sense.' Jasson put his hands in his pockets and looked awkward. 'So…'

'Come on Jasson; don't get all weird on me. It's just a dress.' He still looked a little awkward. 'If you get weird on me, I swear by the gods I will kick your butt.'

He laughed. 'That sounds more like our Kyarri. Okay, promise not to get weird about it anymore.'

'Thanks.' Kyarri scratched Chavi right between the eyes, where horses loved to be scratched, and kissed the top of her nose. 'I think I should probably head back to the palace now; curfew isn't that far off.'

'I think I'll stay here for a bit longer.' He pulled an apple from his pocket and grinned at her. 'Great minds think alike; I haven't visited Royal in ages.'

'I'm sorry, but isn't a prince naming his horse 'Royal' a little weird?' Kyarri asked, wiping her horse-slobbery hand on the inside of her pocket so that the dress wouldn't stain.

'It stands for 'Royal Pain in the Butt', which is what Dom used to call me. Actually, he still calls me that sometimes, but usually not in public like he did when we were little. We grew up together, you know.'

'Yeah, I do; Dom told me. Anyways, I'd better go.'

'Bye.'

'Goodnight.'

Kyarri took the hill back to their rooms at a trot, not particularly bothered about making curfew, since all the pages knew that no one checked until at least half an hour afterwards, in less they were in the halls, or making a lot of noise. She was passing the stables belonging to the King's Own when someone jumped out at her. She heard a rustle of cloth and that was enough warning to make her jump around, turning to face her attacker.

It was Emmet.

He was alone, and he threw a wild punch at her, catching her on her cheekbone. She retaliated with a kick to his solar plexus, cursing her skirts, and then, as he doubled over in pain, kneed him in the nose. Once again, she felt cartilage break. He surged forward, catching her in the belly with his shoulder and tackling her to the ground, landing on her with both knees and driving the air from her lungs. She pushed her thumb into his eye, hard, making him cry out. He took her arm and bent it around, further than the point of regular pain would allow. She heard it break, more than felt it. She used her good arm to hit his face, but he grabbed it. With his larger size and her broken arm, she was pinned, helpless as he grabbed her hair, using it to slam her head against the ground.

Then, someone pulled him off and hit him, hard, in the gut, then over the head. 'Go. _Now._' Jasson's voice was ice, and Emmet obeyed, stumbling away muttering curses at the heir. 'Ky, are you okay?'

'That son of a bitch broke my arm.'

'Other than that.'

'Tickety boo. Absolutely brilliant.'

Jasson rolled his eyes at her sarcasm. 'Come on, up we come.' He helped her to her feet.

'Thanks for saving me. Again.'

'Any time. Now come on, let's get you to Lord Padraig. Thank the gods that it isn't quite curfew yet, or we'd both be in trouble.'

'You fell down,' said Lord Padraig sceptically.

'Yessir.'

'That's twice this week that you've fallen.'

'Yessir. I can be quite clumsy when I'm tired, sir.'

'Fine. Two bells of work in the armoury next Sunday. The next time you "fall down", it will be three bells. Now go to the infirmary and get your arm fixed.'

'Yessir. Thank you, sir.'

Kyarri bowed, cradling her broken arm, and left his office, heading up to the infirmary.

'Not you again!' Duke Baird cried. 'This is what, the second time this week?'

'The third, Your Grace,' Kyarri said, and grinned.

**A/N: And this is how Ky settles in. Sounds just like me; trouble.**


	10. Its Good to Have Good Friends

**A/N: I passed the one quarter mark on my novel! Everyone shout hurray!**

**Anyhoo, here it is.**

Monday morning, Kyarri awoke and looked in the mirror, then whistled. Her cheekbone was slightly swollen, and the bruise around it was the colours of the sunrise outside her window. There was a knot on the back of her head, from both the time the three boys had jumped her earlier that week and when Emmet had slammed her head against the ground. When she stripped off her dress (she'd been too tired to put a nightshirt on after her healing the night before), she saw fresh bruises on her belly and chest, joining the ones that were already there.

'Soon enough I'm just going to be one giant bruise,' she joked to herself as she dressed. 'What's that girl's race? Is she Yamani? Bazhir? K'miri? No, she's just purple!' Kyarri giggled at her own silliness.

A knock on the door was Yukumi. Ky opened it and went to her morning exercises, although she wasn't supposed to do the floor press-ups that day, because according to Duke Baird, her bone would be a bit brittle for the next day or two. When the dawn bell rang, she hammered on all her friends' doors to wake them up, and then skipped back into her room to wash her face, being careful of the bruise.

Yukumi smiled at her. 'You seem very happy this morning, especially for someone with a big swollen bruise on her face.'

'Yeah, and check out these ones.' Kyarri lifted the edge of her shirt to show the maid the multicoloured, mottled bruises all across her front.

'Why don't you tell someone, milady?'

'It's against the rules. The unwritten rules, the ones that the pages follow. You never, ever tell. You say you fell down. Everyone knows what really happened, but you don't tattle.'

'Seems a bit strange, if you don't mind my saying so, milady.'

'I'm a page, not a lady, Miss Yukumi. My name is Kyarri; call me that instead.'

'I'm no Miss. Just Yukumi.'

'Well thank you very much, Yukumi, and could you please remember to lock my room on your way out? The key is on my nightstand, just leave it with Salma, or actually, just keep it, because you'll be back in here to draw my bath before I'm back here to take it.'

Yukumi looked taken aback. 'You don't think I'll steal something?'

'Will you?'

'No, of course not.'

'There,' Kyarri smiled. 'Problem solved. Now I am off to breakfast.' She skipped out of the room to pound on her friends' doors again, and then headed down to the mess hall. She was the first of her group of friends there, and she took her usual seat at their table. She was filling her bowl with porridge, stuffed with dried fruit and nuts, when someone's shadow blocked her view.

She looked up, way up, into the face of Tristan of Runnerspring, which was twisted with malice. 'You try a little trick like that again, wench, and we'll beat you until they have to send you home in a box, even with your little prince to look after you.'

Kyarri stood so that she wasn't quite as short, although he was still much taller. 'That prince will someday be the king that you will serve, and it would do you well to speak of him with respect. And I fight my own battles; I don't need my friends to do it for me.'

'The little kitten tries to roar. Well, I've got news for you, bitch, you're no lioness.' Kyarri stared into his face, so warped by hatred and fear, and smiled.

'No, but I will be someday. And when I am, if you're still around, you'll wish you quit long ago.'

He laughed, but it was hollow, and she could see the fear on his face. He was afraid of her. They stood there for a moment, her staring him down, him trying not to back down, until her friends appeared.

'Any problem?' asked the prince coolly.

'None at all. Tristan here was just leaving, weren't you?' Kyarri said sweetly. He turned and stalked away. Kyarri sat back down. 'That's what I thought.'

'Was he being a nuisance?' Dom asked.

'Not really. He was just afraid.' The boys looked back and forth at each other, then shrugged and began to serve themselves. Then, Lord Padraig walked in, and they all stood to attention. He said the prayer and they all sat again. As they did, Kyarri brushed her hair, which she hadn't braided yet, out of her face.

'Goddess, Ky, what did you do to yourself?' Ayden demanded. Kyarri blinked at him for a moment, then remembered the bruise on her face.

'Nothing. Well, I went down to visit Chavi last night. Ask Jasson if you don't believe me; he was there visiting Royal.' They all looked at the prince, who nodded. 'Anyways, on the way climbing back through my window, I slipped and hit my face on the window frame. So essentially, it was nothing. Just a stupid accident.' She dug into her porridge with gusto, not paying attention to her friends' disbelieving looks.

After breakfast, when they all split off to get their practice gear, Dom took the prince aside.

'She didn't really hit herself on the window frame.' It wasn't a question. 'She only eats like that after a healing.'

Jasson shook his head. 'It was Emmet. He came up on her from behind. He had her pinned and broke her arm before I managed to get to him.'

'Stubborn little thing. Did she manage to get him, at least?'

'She broke his nose, blacked one eye and nearly blinded him in the other with her thumb.'

'Well, that's something, anyways. Jase, we have to look after her. If they get her good and proper, they'll kill her.'

Jasson nodded, his face serious.

For the next couple of weeks, her friends didn't let Ky go anywhere alone, which she noticed and remarked upon. They all just ignored these remarks, instead changing the subject, often to such inane things ('Oh, look how blue the sky is.') that she knew exactly what was going on. They refused to give up, however, and she let it go, knowing that she had more important things to think about than her friends' time wasting.

With one thing and another, time passed, and before Kyarri knew it, she'd been at the palace for an entire month.

One rainy October dawn, Kyarri was awakened by a damp sandpaper tongue washing her face. 'Five more minutes,' she groaned, rolling over.

_No,_ the cat said. _If you wait five minutes, then that's five minutes less of your exercises, and next time it'll be ten minutes, and before you know it, you'll have stopped doing them altogether._

It was then that Kyarri's brain kicked in. 'Raoul!' she cried, cuddling the cat under her chin.

_Stop that! This is undignified!_ yowled the cat, but Kyarri paid him no nevermind, instead hugging him close and kissing his fur.

'I missed you so much!'

_Yes, I missed you too, now LET GO! _Kyarri obeyed, and immediately, Raoul-the-cat stalked away to sit on the chair by her fire and wash himself, smoothing rumpled fur.

'You'll have to leave when the maid comes,' Kyarri said, unlocking her window to let the cool morning air in. 'I'm not allowed to have pets.' She began her morning exercises smiling, pleased at the addition of Raoul to her morning routine.

When Yukumi knocked on the door, Kyarri tried to shoo Raoul out the window, but he just gave her an amused look that said _Yeah. Uh-huh. 'Cause I'm really going to go out in that rain _and hid under the bed.

Kyarri giggled and opened the door. 'Good morning, Yukumi.'

'Good morning, Kyarri. Did you sleep well?'

'Yes, thanks.' Kyarri resumed her floor press-ups. They were getting even easier now, and she found that she could do more of them every day, getting lower and lower to the ground.

'I'm supposed to tell you that Mistress Daine and Master Numair are in the palace once again, and they would like your company for tea this afternoon, and they apologize for the last minute nature of their offer.'

Kyarri thought for a second and then nodded. It was Sunday, their off day, and she had managed not to get any punishment work this week, for once. Most weeks she got at least an hour, if not two or three, for little things like a spot of dirt on her tack, an extremely bad staff lesson or lateness to a meal or lesson. This week though, she had none, for the first time since she'd come to the palace. 'Please tell them that I accept.'

'They also said to tell you that there would be a few other people there,' Yukumi said. 'People you know, Mistress Daine said, but you should still dress properly for tea.'

'Thank you.'

Yukumi nodded as she set Kyarri's wash water on the stand. 'You seem to have settled into palace life very well,' she said, shaking out one of Kyarri's shirts in the mending basket.

'I suppose I have. I like it here. Everything is simple. I know what I have to do and when I have to do it, and in between, I have time to think. Like, when I'm in a pattern in staff work, or shooting in archery, or running back up the hill from practice. I have friends who help me out, and I help them. It's a good life.'

Yukumi smiled again. 'It's not the life for me, miss, but I'm glad that you're happy.'

'Thank you, Yukumi. You know you're a very good maid and friend to me, for someone that I don't even pay.'

'Thank you, miss. And I have to say, I enjoy your company. You're kind to me, and you make me laugh.'

'I'm glad you like it here.' Just then, someone pounded on the door.

'Ky, open up!' she opened it to reveal her friends among the pages, all standing around waiting for her. 'We're going for a ride in the forest. You in?'

'Sure, as long as I'm back by early afternoon.' She turned to look at Yukumi. 'Can you have my bath ready for when I return?'

'Yes, miss. If you like, I'll have soup for you, too.'

'Thank you, Yukumi, you're a blessing.' Kyarri slid her feet into riding boots and got her riding jacket off its hook. Her gloves were rolled up neatly in one of the pockets, thanks to Yukumi. Then Kyarri left, braiding her hair on the way down to the stables and nearly falling down a staircase in the process.


	11. A Perfect Fit

The boys and Kyarri had a nice ride in the rain, laughing and having races, and when they returned to the palace shortly after lunchtime, they were all soaked to the skin. After grooming their horses and cleaning the tack, the boys said goodbye to Kyarri and headed off to the men's baths while she climbed the hill to her room, slipping a bit in the mud. When she arrived, Yukumi was there with hot soup and a steaming bath. She helped Kyarri strip off her wet things as the girl shivered, only realizing now that she was in the warm how cold she had been. She sank into the tub gratefully and soaked for a few minutes, sipping her soup, while Yukumi tidied away her wet clothes, then she scrubbed herself down with her special lavender soap, getting the smells of horse and wet leather off of her skin and out of her hair. Then she got out of the tub and dried off.

'Yukumi?'

'Yes?'

'What do you do, when you aren't here being my maid?'

'Mostly sewing up the pages' clothes. I sweep this hallway every day, too. Why do you ask?'

Kyarri shrugged as she squeezed water out of her hair. 'I was just curious. I know that footmen bring the boys their wash water in the mornings, and I know what they do during the rest of the day, so I was wondering what you did.'

'Oh.'

'Are you happy here?' Kyarri asked.

'Yes, very much. I like the work I do, and the people I work for; you and Salma. I have friends here, just like you do.'

'I'm glad that you do.'

'Thank you, miss. Would you like me to lay out a dress for you?'

'Yes please, the blue cambric, and those brown leather slippers too, please.'

After Kyarri had wrung the last drop of water from her dark curls, she put on a linen shift, then the light blue cambric dress that Yukumi had laid out for her. She brushed out her hair and threaded it with a ribbon the same colour as the dress. Yukumi came over and tugged the hem of the dress until it lay straight, the embroideries flat.

'Will that be everything for now?' Yukumi asked.

'Yes, thank you.' Yukumi got Kyarri's soup mug from the dressing room and left, leaving the door slightly ajar behind her. Kyarri slid her feet into the brown leather slippers and looked at her reflection in the mirror.

The dress fit nicely, the sleeves stopping at the elbows and the skirt flowing straight to the floor, a band of embroidery carefully concealing the spot where the dress had been let out for Kyarri's new height. She hadn't grown since she'd left home, so the dress still brushed the flagstones, with her leather slippers only showing when she walked quickly or lifted her skirt to climb stairs.

Still, there was something missing, Kyarri thought as she examined her reflection in the mirror. She went to her trinket box and sifted through it, searching for the necklace that Numair had given her for her ninth birthday. She found it, a simple tiger's eye on a thin silver chain, the colour of the stone matching that of her eyes. She put it around her neck, but she couldn't get the clasp, and then it got tangled with her hair. She untangled it, frustrated.

Someone knocked on her door, and since Yukumi had left it ajar, it fell open, revealing Dom.

'Hello, Dom.'

'Well don't you look nice,' Dom said, sounding vaguely impressed. 'What's the occasion?'

'Numy and Daine have just gotten back to the palace, and they've invited me to tea, evidently with some other people that I know, but I don't know who it is yet. And I should be leaving right now, but I can't get this necklace on.'

He held out a hand and she passed it over without comment. She lifted her hair out of the way and he clasped it, letting the cold chain settle against her skin where it warmed quickly.

'There,' he said, stepping back as Kyarri let her hair fall again. 'Let's see you.'

She stood there, looking at him, and he looked back. 'You do look lovely. Now go, or you'll be late to your party.'

'Thanks,' Kyarri said. She was locking her door when she remembered that he'd come to see her. 'What did you need to talk to me for?'

'Never mind, it can wait until later,' Dom called over his shoulder, disappearing into his room.

Kyarri knocked on the door of Daine and Numair's rooms and smoothed her skirts nervously. It had been more than a month since she'd seen them, and she wanted them to be proud of her.

Daine answered the door and swept Kyarri up into a hug. Numair elbowed his way to join in, sending them all nearly tumbling over.

Daine beckoned Kyarri inside and sat her down on the couch, asking her all sorts of questions about her friends and her page training. Kyarri answered them as best she could while Numair looked on. Finally, Daine ran out of questions.

'I missed you two,' Kyarri said. 'I love it here, but it's weird not living with you two, and Alanna and George. It's almost like being grown up.' Daine laughed and hugged her again.

Someone knocked on the door.

'Why don't you go answer it?' Daine said to Kyarri. 'I'll go get the tea set.' Kyarri obeyed, opening the door to find Alanna. She hugged Alanna tight, as well.

Once everything had settled down and they all had cups of tea, Kyarri grinned. 'It's so strange, all of us sitting here in our dresses and drinking tea in the palace. Someone who didn't know of any of us would have no idea that we were the Wildmage, the Lioness, and a troublemaking girl page.

'Troublemaking, are you?' Alanna asked, eyebrows raised.

'Well, not troublemaking, _per say_, but-'

She was saved from explanation by another knock on the door. She glanced at her guardians, startled. 'More company?'

Alanna shooed her towards the door, and Kyarri went. She opened the door and standing behind it was a mammoth of a man with dark hair. He dwarfed his wife, who stood beside him, jet black eyes twinkling in her golden skin.

'Raoul! Buri!' She'd known them since she was tiny and she hugged them both tightly before letting them come in properly. Behind them was their son, Dom.

'Dom! You knew I was coming here. Why didn't you tell me that you were too?' Kyarri demanded, socking him on the arm.

'I thought that it could be a surprise.'

'Dolt.'

Raoul laughed. 'I'm glad that someone around here treats my son like he ought to be treated.'

Kyarri blushed, knowing that her behaviour wasn't very ladylike, and then remembered the company she was in and laughed too. Daine poured tea for everyone and they all drank, and ate the fruit and crackers laid out on the table as they talked about page training, Raoul and Alanna telling stories of their own time as pages. They just finished the one about Ralon of Malven, the bully who Alanna, disguised as Alan at the time, had beaten. Then Alanna turned to Kyarri.

'What's this we've been hearing about boys giving you trouble?'

Kyarri put on her best innocent face. 'I fell down.'

'Oh, I'll bet you did. Several times.' Alanna growled. She looked at Dom. 'What really happened?'

'The numbers were unfair one time, the other she was wearing a skirt that got in the way. She gave nearly as good as she got though, Lady Alanna.'

''Lanna, it was just a misunderstanding. They thought that girls shouldn't be pages; I disagreed.' Everyone laughed at that and conversation went back to normal for the rest of the afternoon.

When the bell rang twice, signalling dinner, Dom and Kyarri jumped up.

'Sorry, Ma, but we have to go. If we're late, we'll get punishment work.' Dom explained to Buri. Both pages kissed everyone goodbye and ran off down the corridor, Kyarri holding her skirts up in her hand so that she didn't trip on them, leather slippers and Dom's soft leather boots making _shush_ing noises on the flagstones of the hallways.

They stopped outside the mess hall, Kyarri letting her skirts fall. 'We've got a minute,' Dom said. 'We aren't late.' He pushed the door open and bowed her in first.

Most of the pages were there, and all who were there stared at Kyarri. She flushed slightly, remembering that she was wearing a nice dress and a hair ribbon, and a necklace, all these girly little details. Dom was at her side.

'You look really nice, they just aren't used to it, remember?' he muttered to her as they crossed the room. 'They're used to the Kyarri who beats them at archery every day, not the Kyarri who wears pretty dresses and hair ribbons.' His words made Kyarri laugh a little and she smiled as she sat down with the boys at her usual table.

'Wow, Kyarri, you're a _girl_,' Ayden said.

'Had you not figured it out already? I thought you were cleverer than that. Yes, I'm a girl. Haven't you all seen me in a dress before?'

Most of the boys shook their heads, but Jasson said 'Yep.' They all looked at him. 'Well, there was that night when I saw her in the stables and later she hit her face on her window frame and bruised herself, remember that?'

'Hit her face on the window frame, I doubt,' Owen growled. 'More like hit her face on Emmet's fist.'

Kyarri shot him a glare.

'Anyways,' the prince continued. 'I saw her in a dress that time, and then there was this one time, before she came here.'

'Oh, Goddess, you aren't actually going to tell this story, are you?' groaned Kyarri.

'Dom and I were about ten, it was the summer before we started here. Kyarri was nine, and the Lioness hosted a party, with all her friends coming. Now, Kyarri's parents are friends with Dom's and my parents, so of course we were there, along with our siblings.'

Dom picked up from there. 'My sisters were there, all around Kyarri's age, and Jase's sister, who's a little older, and they were all sitting around in their pretty dresses talking about clothes and face paints and marriages. Kyarri got bored to tears, and she came over to us boys, including us and a couple of others, and starts talking about archery with us. And somehow, the discussion turns into a challenge, and we all head out to the yard to prove who's better.'

'And so by this time Kyarri has beaten all of us badly, you all know how good at archery she is,' Jasson said. 'And you know how much of a sore loser I can be, so imagine that, plus losing to a girl, who was younger, and wearing some stupid dress.' All the boys laughed again. Kyarri was getting steadily redder as this story unfolded.

Dom began again. 'So Jase challenges Ky to a mud fight, and she can't turn down a challenge, so she accepts.' By this point, the boys were laughing hysterically. 'So we get into this massive mud war just outside the walls of the Swoop, with some of the guardsmen and local boys joining in, too, every man for himself. By the time we go back inside, we're all covered in mud, which was to be expected of boys and our mothers had brought changes of clothes, no harm done. But Kyarri comes through the front doors, completely plastered with mud, and she just stands there dripping, her fancy dress absolutely _ruined._ And Her Majesty and the Lioness and my mum are all standing there staring at her, and then they burst out laughing.'

'Every time they tried to stop laughing, they started again, and Kyarri had started to get really mad,' Jase said. 'And by then, everyone had come to see what the fuss was all about, including Dom's and my sisters. So my mum and Commander Buri and the Lioness are laughing, in absolute hysterics, holding onto each other and crying with laughter, with all our girly little sisters looking on, and Kyarri's really mad. She stomps her foot, which splashes in the puddle of mud that's fallen off of her by now, and she points at our sisters and shouts "Well at least I'm not some stupid little buffle-brain like them, not good for anything but marrying!"'

By now in the mess hall, boys from the tables nearby who were friendly with them were listening too and the entire section of the hall was laughing uproariously as he finished the story.

'That story isn't funny!' Kyarri said. 'I was really mad! And I'm sorry, Dom, Jasson, but your sisters are absolutely boring and useless. The fun I had that day was worth a stupid dress. And I beat both of you!'

She just shook her head as all the boys laughed, then joined in. Sitting there, in the mess hall in her dress, hair ribbon and all, laughing along with the boys, Kyarri felt as if she fit.

**A/N: Writing this chapter, I actually laughed out loud. I actually really like it, more than I thought I would. This story was supposed to be a way to cure writers block on my novel, but it's taken on a life of it's own.**


	12. The Dancing Dove

'How is it that this fall passed so quickly?' Kyarri asked Ayden as they scrubbed chain mail side by side in the armoury one Sunday afternoon. 'It feels like I got here just yesterday, and tomorrow is the first day of Midwinter festivals!'

Ayden shrugged. 'It doesn't feel like you got here just yesterday to me. It feels like you've always been here. I have trouble thinking back to a time when you weren't.'

'Now that you mention it, I know what you mean. It feels like a got here yesterday and years ago, all at the same time. I can remember my first week here, how bashed up I got, both by those guys and in staff practice. Goddess, do you remember how bad I was?' she groaned.

Ayden laughed. 'I remember. I'm the one who witched your fingers better, remember?'

'Yeah, I do. Thanks, by the way. And remember how hard I worked on my staff work, every morning and night in my room, until I got better? And I had to ask Dom for help, and he had to make marks on my staff so I wouldn't forget my grip, and he drew in chalk on my floor?'

Ayden laughed. 'Remember that time when we were studying in your room and Owen sat down right on the chalk? He had this big white mark on his backside.'

Kyarri laughed too. 'Yeah, I remember it all. I wonder what next year will bring.'

'Probably more bruises, if I'm any guess. Speaking of bruises, have those boys given you any more trouble? Any more falling down?'

'Not since that time in November when they didn't realize you were all coming to meet me and we beat them into jelly. I think they're plotting something diabolical.'

'They'd best not be, or we'll pound them into jelly again.' The bell rang. 'Come on! We have the rest of the day free and I have some last minute Midwinter shopping to do. Jasson, Owen and Dom are coming. D'you want to come?'

'Yeah, sure. Where do you want me to meet you guys?' Kyarri asked.

'Page's courtyard, but we're not meeting for another half hour, so take some time to get changed. Oh, and maybe wake Dom up, I think he said after lunch that he was going back to bed.'

They split off towards separate rooms, Ayden to his one down the hall and Kyarri to bang on Dom's door, then open it. The boy was still in bed, half asleep.

'Wake up!' Kyarri commanded, throwing open the shutters. 'It's a beautiful day, the sun is shining, and we leave for the city in half an hour.' She turned to give him a happy, beaming smile, but he was hidden beneath the bedclothes, muttering about pesky, chipper girls who had already been up for far too long. Kyarri grabbed at his blankets and yanked them off his bed, dumping them as far away from his bed as possible while still in the room. 'Get up!' She left, slamming the door behind her.

Twenty minutes later, she was back. 'Are you ready yet?' she demanded from outside his door, in case he was changing.

'I'm ready, I'm ready, no need to get your knickers in a twist,' he said, opening the door. He stopped when he saw her. 'Well, well, well. Look who's dressed like a girl today.'

'Hopefully not you,' Kyarri said, pushing him back into his room to put his boots and jacket on.

'So, what's with the get-up?' he asked, pulling on his left boot first, then his right.

'There's some people I need to go see, down in the city, to drop off a Midwinter present, and I think it would give them a good laugh to see me all "girled up", as you like to call it.' She glanced down at herself. 'Besides, I thought I looked nice.'

'You look absolutely _darling_, m'dear. Just like one of those convent girls, one of those, what was the word you used, _buffle-brains_ like my sisters,' Dom joked, pulling on his thick wool coat.

'Dom, I'm really sensitive about this. If you mock me, I'm not coming.'

'Relax, Ky, you look fine. Just, different, is all.' He ushered her out his door and closed it behind him, then they went out through Kyarri's window, him first and her second, locking the door and window behind them. The other boys were already there, stamping their feet to keep warm.

'Where were you guys? It's _freezing_ out here; let's get moving.' Owen was usually a very happy person but a total grouch in the cold.

'Dom couldn't decide what he wanted to wear,' Kyarri teased. 'He kept changing outfits, wondering which colours looked best.'

Dom swatted her, grinning.

'I can't help but notice that you look a little, um, girlish, this morning,' Ayden remarked casually.

'I bet that you could help noticing if you really tried. Just ignore it; it's to make someone I need to go see while we're there laugh,' Kyarri explained.

'You do look nice,' Jasson said.

'Thank you, Jasson. That's very nice of you,' Kyarri said. 'Now can we please change the subject?'

'But why?' Owen teased, in a better mood now that movement had warmer him up. 'You look radiant.'

'Absolutely _lovely_,' Ayden put in.

'Like the most beautiful belle at the Midwinter Ball,' Dom added with a wicked grin.

'All the boys will want to dance with you,' Jasson said, smiling. 'We'll have to beat them away with sticks.'

'You guys!' Kyarri cried, her face red. She turned and began heading back to the palace, her eyes starting to tear up.

Jasson caught her up and grabbed her arm. 'Come on, Ky. We're sorry if we upset you, we were just funning. We'll stop now.' He led her back down to where the other boys were waiting. Under Jasson's glare, Kyarri got an assemblage of muttered apologies, and they resumed their walk.

As they reached the edge of the Marketplace, Dom asked 'So who do you have to make laugh with your choice of attire?'

'It doesn't really matter. I have to go by myself anyways. Actually, I should go pretty soon.'

They all stared at her. 'Do you really think that we, a group of knights-in-training, are going to let you, one fairly strong but still rather small girl walk through the city alone on the first evening of the holiday, when all the men have been drinking already?' Jasson asked. 'How stupid and irresponsible do you think we are?'

Kyarri sighed impatiently and ground one boot toe into the cobbles of the road, trying to figure out how to explain this. 'I can't take you guys.'

'Why not?' demanded Ayden.

'Because…'Kyarri squirmed. 'Because some of the people I'm going to see make their living in…unsavoury ways. I don't want you lot mixed up in all that, especially not you, Jasson.'

Jasson rolled his eyes in exasperation. 'So _now_ you want us to let you go by yourself in the city alone on the first evening of the holiday to meet a bunch of thieves, probably in an alehouse of some kind? Are you listening to yourself? Do you know how insane you sound?'

Kyarri looked from one stubborn-faced, cross-armed friend to the next, and then sighed. 'I have to do this. It's _important_.'

'Then I'm coming with you,' Jasson insisted. Kyarri opened her mouth to argue and Jasson cut her off, stepping towards her. 'Listen,' he said, his voice low enough that the others couldn't hear. 'I know where you're going. I know how you know the place, and I know how to make it okay for me to be there. Just say I can go with you.'

'Fine,' Kyarri said. 'Jasson can come. Are you all happy now?'

'Why him?' Dom asked.

'Because he and I are the only ones with our Midwinter shopping done and the gifts are going to be given in four days. Now scat. We'll meet you at the Temple District gate in an hour.'

The boys shuffled off down the road.

'How do you know?' Kyarri asked Jasson.

'My grandfather, King Jonathon. He loves to tell stories of when he was young, with the Lioness and Sir Raoul and Sir Gareth. His favourites are of the times when he'd go into the city as Johnny, a rich merchant's son, and go spend time with the Rogue, the King of Thieves. I know that the old King of Thieves is Baron George Cooper, and I know that the Court of the Rogue is held at the Dancing Dove, which is where you are going. I will go as Jase, a friend of yours and a merchant's son.'

'You're pretty quick for someone who's so slow. I have a package from Grandfather Myles that needs to be sent to my father, and a regular messenger isn't safe enough. There are people at the Court who can be trusted, but Myles is too old to come down to the city in all this snow, so he gave it to me.'

'Well, aren't you important?' Jasson said, turning down a side street.

'What's that supposed to mean?' Kyarri asked.

'I just supposed I never really _thought_ about who your guardians were before. I knew, but never thought about it. You've got the King's Champion, his spymaster, the Wildmage, and the most powerful mage in the realm.'

'And you were saying, _Your Highness_?'

'Point taken.'

They walked in silence for a minute, their boots making _slush _noises in the trampled snow.

'Hey Jase?'

'Yeah?' he said, smiling at the nickname.

'Thanks.'

'For what?'

'For being so good to me. I got here, some crazy little kitten who kept getting the stuffing knocked out of her and simultaneously acing archery and failing staffwork, but you guys looked out for me, especially you and Dom. And I don't think I ever said thanks.'

'No thanks are needed. I would have done it for anyone. Besides,' he added with a grin, 'You make us laugh.' He went to ruffle her hair but pulled back when he remembered that she had actually put effort into it that day.

'Here we are!' they stood in front of the Dancing Dove, staring at its faded sign. 'Hey, Jase, before we go in, I ought to warn you. Everyone in there knows me, and some of them might act a little weird around me. It's sort of a joke, and also kind of serious.'

'Sure thing, kitten.' Jase winked at her and opened the door, bowing her through. She giggled and went.

The inside was smoky and dim, but cozy for all that. It felt comfortable, like a well-worn pair of shoes.

They walked through the place, Jasson on Kyarri's right side as everyone cheered and said hello. Some of them called her princess, and she just laughed and greeted everyone back.

Jasson watched, amazed, at how _at ease _Kyarri was with these rough-and-tumble thieves. They were hard men and women, you could see from the scars on their faces, their well-worn weapons and the hard glint in their eyes, but they seemed to really love this strange girl page.

'Hey, Rialla,' Kyarri said, stopping a flower seller.

'What can I do for you, princess? And who's your friend?'

'This is Jase, Rialla. His father is a merchant who sells expensive cloth to the nobility.'

'Such as yourself.'

'Oh, hush. I'm looking for Marek, is he around?'

'Oh, aye, upstairs he is.'

'Alone?'

Rialla laughed, a full, rich laugh for such a small woman. 'There's no lady friend with him, if that's what you mean. He's got one of his old friends in for a drink.'

'Thanks.' Kyarri turned back to Jasson. The stubborn set of his face caught her off-guard. 'What? I haven't even said anything yet!'

'I know that look. You're going to say that you wish to go up alone.'

'Jase, I'll be fine here. I'm their little princess, remember? It would just be like you letting your sister walk to your uncle's room by herself.'

Jasson bit his lip, thinking hard. 'I still don't like it.'

'You don't have to. Here.' She sat him down at a table near the door upstairs, along with a few young members of the Court. 'Jase, this is Gavin, Sparks, Fionna, Orem and Flash. Teach him to play dice, won't you? I just have some business to take care of.' She leaned down to whisper in his ear. 'Five minutes, that's it. Just give me five minutes.'

'Princess, won't you stay a bit? You look so fine tonight.' Orem said with a grin.

Kyarri shook her head, returning the smile. 'I have business with Marek, then I have to get back up to the palace. I'm a page; you know that.' She waved goodbye to a still-not-convinced Jase and walked up the stairs in the back. She knocked on the door at the top and went in.

Marek sat at his table, alone. The rooftop door had barely clacked back into place by the time she stepped into the room.

'I'm sorry, Your Majesty, did I scare your guest away?' she asked.

'No, not at all, he was just leaving. Look at you!' he hugged her, then held her at arms length. 'Lady page and all. I've been keeping an eye on you-'  
'Of course you have.'

'-and I've heard nothing but good. Except about those boys back in September.'

'Uncle Marek, do you have to bring that up? It's over and done with. I handled it. Besides, I didn't come to you for a social visit. I have a very protective friend waiting for me downstairs, so we can't be long.'

'Why is it that no one ever visits me just for the sake of a visit?' the King of Thieves said, mock sadly. 'I'll get lonely at this rate.'

'Stop it. This is serious.' She withdrew a packet of folded papers, wrapped in oilcloth, from a pocket on the inside of her cloak. 'This is for George, from Myles. He says it's urgent and he can't trust it to any of the usual networks.'

Marek raised his eyebrows as he took the package and tucked it into his shirt. 'That _is _serious. I'll take it to him myself; I could use seeing George again and the mountain air will do me good.'

'In that case, can you take this as well?' she took a small box, wrapped in brown paper from her cloak as well, along with a letter. 'It's his midwinter present. He was supposed to come, but he got held up and if he leaves now, he won't make it in time. Besides, he hates the palace.'

'I'll take it to him.'

'Thanks. Now, I need to get back downstairs, before Jase comes looking for me.'

They headed back down the staircase, Marek letting Kyarri go first. When she opened the door at the bottom, she caught Jase, looking at her anxiously. She smiled reassuringly.

'Who's this?' Marek asked Kyarri.

'Yeah, Princess,' Jase said, standing up from his game of dice. 'Introduce your friend.'

'Jase, this is Marek. Marek, my friend Jase.' Kyarri was standing next to Jase, and out of the corner of her mouth, growled '_Bow._' Jase did as he was told, bowing as a merchant would to a King.

'He's a good friend, Marek. He looks after me.'

'Princess, I'm glad. You need looking after.'

'Marek!' she swatted him on the arm as he grinned.

'As much as I'd love to stay, we should be going,' Jase said. 'We're meeting the others in ten minutes, and it'll take longer than that to get where we're going.'

Kyarri looked wistful. 'He's right. We should be going.'

'All right then, Princess. Look after yourself.' He hugged her again.

'I won't even need to, with all these big strong man-creatures looking after me!' she joked.

Then she curtsied to Marek, as a princess curtsies to a King, and Marek bowed, as a King does to a visiting Princess. After a second, Jase caught on and he bowed too, then they took their leave, promising to visit again soon.

As they stepped outside into the cool night air, Kyarri caught Jase looking at her, startled. 'What?' she demanded.

'Nothing. Well, it's just, funny. In there, you're a princess, and even if they knew who I was, I would be considered a lower rank than you.'

Kyarri laughed. 'In the Court of the Rogue, your rank is defined by what you do, not who you are. Yes, my adopted father is the old King, but I also make them laugh. I beat Orem in a knife fight in November, and I run messages between Marek and Myles often. They see me as a person, defined by who I am. Your title comes from your birthright.'

Jase considered this for a minute, then looked back at her, startled. 'You beat Orem in a knife fight?' Jase asked.

'Mhm.'

'But he's bigger than I am! You could see his muscles through his shirt!'

'He's slow.'

Jase shook his head. 'You're crazy, princess.'

By then they'd reached the temple district gates, where the boys were waiting for them, arms full of Midwinter shopping.

'Took you long enough!' Dom said. 'Who was it so gods-damned important for you to see? The King?'

Kyarri and Jase shared a sly grin. 'Something like that.'

The other boys just shook their heads at them and kept walking.

About halfway through Temple District, Orem caught them up. He stopped a few feet away, bowed to Kyarri, then hugged her. Jase looked mildly murderous, the other boys merely confused.

'Highness, Marek forgot to give you this. He sent me after you.' Orem held out a package. Kyarri took it quickly and tucked it into her cloak. She grabbed Orem by the wrist and dragged him out of earshot of the other boys. She dropped his wrist and cuffed him on the side of the head.

'Orem, you're an idiot. Not in front of my friends!'

The young thief just grinned. 'Whatever you say, Highness.' He kissed her forehead like an older brother would and walked away, still smiling. As Kyarri rejoined her friends, he turned around and called 'Happy Midwinter, Princess!'

'Who the hell was that?' asked Dom.

'And why did he treat you like royalty?' Ayden added.

'And what did he give you?' Owen asked.

Kyarri laughed. 'You boys sure do ask a lot of questions. That's just Orem. He used to spend summers at the Swoop with me when he was little; he's the closest thing I have to a brother. He gave me a present, from my…uncle.'

'I don't believe you.' Dom's face was stony, arms akimbo.

Kyarri scuffled his hair. 'Careful, if the wind changes, your face will freeze that way. As for the rest, I'll tell you all about it someday. Not today, though; we've got to get back up to the palace.'

**A/N: This is the longest chapter so far, and my favourite. Please review!**


	13. Midwinter

**A/N: Sorry that it's been so long. I've been working on my novel, and I'm halfway done, throw a party for me!**

**So, in honour of the fact that I've been a horrible non-updater (and we all know how much we hate those!) I'm posting a chapter a day for the next five days.  
**

Kyarri stood in front of her mirror, braiding her hair in the most careful way that she ever had, keeping it wet so that not a single curl was out of place. When that was finished, she tied it with a leather thong and wrapped the ends around a couple of times, tucking them out of sight.

She checked all the buttons of her gold shirt before pulling on her crimson tunic.

'You do look very fine, miss,' Yukumi said from her seat by the fire.

'Thanks. I just…I have to look perfect.'

'I'm sorry, miss, but why? You're only going to be on the stairs; no one will even see you.'

'One of the older boys might drop something and I'll be called to serve, or maybe I'll run into someone I know. I don't know why; it just seems really important.'

'If you say so, miss.'

There was a thud on the door, and then it opened a crack. 'Are you decent?' Ayden's voice asked.

'Yes?' Kyarri said, confused.

The door swung open, showing the assembled boys. 'We were just wondering if you wouldn't mind making sure we looked all right.'

'Why can't you do that for yourselves?' They all looked at one another and shrugged. 'If you're in here because I'm a girl, I am _gone_.'

They all shook their heads vigorously. Kyarri sighed. 'You boys are more trouble than you're worth. Ayden, you hose are twisted.' The boy shuffled the fabric into a more pleasing arrangement. Kyarri straightened Owen's collar and did up the buttons on Dom's cuffs, which he hadn't been able to do by himself. 'There. Perfect. Now let's go, or we'll be late.'

That night had no mishaps whatsoever. After serving, the boys went to their own dinner, having to constantly poke one another to keep themselves awake, then collapsed into bed.

The next two days were much the same, and they went by quickly.

On the fourth day of the festival, the longest night of the year, Kyarri woke to find Yukumi stoking up the fire and a pile of presents at the foot of Kyarri's bed.

'Thanks, Yukumi. Midwinter luck,' Kyarri mumbled sleepily as she got out of bed. She washed her face with the steaming water the maid had brought for her, washing the sleep out of her eyes, then sat cross-legged on her bed to unwrap her presents.

Daine had given her fresh tea from the Yamani Islands, Numaicr, a book about the Sight. George had sent her a new whetstone, having heard about the thieving of her old one, and Alanna had sent her a jar of her famous bruisebalm. Dom had given her a thin silver cuff bracelet, make to look like a snake, fangs bared. Kyarri laughed, remembering how they had met on her first day. Owen and Ayden had given her bags of sweets, while Jasson had given her a very up-to-date book about lady knights, including the Lioness and Lady Kel.

Kyarri had opened all of these and was halfway through getting dressed when she remembered the present from Marek, unopened and still in the pocket of her cloak. She retrieved at and opened it carefully, pulling the tissue back to reveal a hairpiece a bit bigger than Kyarri's palm, made of silver worked like lace to look like a tiara. There was a note underneath.

No, Princess, you mistrustful chit, I did not steal it. I had it made specially for you, with my own money. Sorry Princess, but I like my little joke. I hope you have a wonderful year, and I'm glad you're happy, Lady Page.

Midwinter luck from Uncle Marek

Kyarri admired her new trinket for a few moments, then put it carefully away in her box, wrapped in tissue so that it didn't get broken. She finished dressing and went down to the mess hall, where her friends already were, some of them carrying Midwinter presents to show the others.

When all the thanks and hubbub over presents had died down, Jasson leaned over to Kyarri. 'Are you coming to that party this afternoon, that my parents are holding?'

'Unfortunately. I got a visit from Alanna yesterday. She made it very clear that I was to be there, in my nicest dress, or face her wrath.'

Jasson winced in sympathy. 'The wrath of the Lioness is not something that I'd want to face.'

'Exactly.'

Without their noticing, Dom had gotten up from his seat and snuck around behind them. He stuck his face between theirs and whispered 'Hey! Can I whisper too?'

Kyarri burst out laughing, so hard that it hurt, and Jasson and Dom joined in too. The other boys had absolutely no idea what was going on, but the laughter was so infectious and the day so happy that they joined in, their combined laughter ringing through the mess hall.

After breakfast, Kyarri bid her friends goodbye, opting out of their snowball fight to go give Chavi some Midwinter treats. She bundled up in her warmest coat and knit scarf, then slipped and slip her way through the snow down the hill to the stables.

As soon as she stepped through the door of the stables, Kyarri was blasted with hot air; the stables were heated by magic, the warmth drawn up from hotsprings deep underground. She took off her coat and scarf, hanging them on one of the hooks near the stable door meant for just that purpose, before going down to see Chavi.

The horse was delighted with the treats and the praise that Kyarri gave her, and she squirmed with happiness in that funny way horses do when you curry them. Kyarri spent more than an hour with Chavi, grooming her until she shone copper, like a new penny. Then she gave the horse one last kiss on her velvety nose before letting herself out of the stall.

She had one arm in the sleeve of her coat when Tristan of Runnerspring leaned over her shoulder and whispered in her ear. '_Bastard_.' His voice was pure venom.

Kyarri pulled her arm out of her jacket, readying herself for a fight. She dodged Tristan's first punch and got him in face with her fist. He jumped back, shaking his head to clear it, then swung back in with a boot to her kneecap, making it collapse, Kyarri falling to her knees. He brought his foot back up into her face, splitting her eyebrow. She grabbed the foot and twisted it, dumping him on his back. She stood and slammed her boot into his belly, then his face.

Ky stood in the stables, looking down at the writhing boy on the ground, blood running into her eye. She wiped it away with her hand, then spat on the ground.

'Never touch me again.' Her voice was shaking with icy rage. He looked up into her gold eyes, blazing with anger, and quailed. 'Ever.' She picked up her jacket and scarf and left him lying there on the ground.

Kyarri stomped through the snow on the way back up to her room, seething in anger and shaking with adrenaline. She climbed back through her window and dumped her mucky boots by the door, her coat and scarf on her bed.

She looked in the mirror and stretched herself out, taking inventory of her injuries. Her knee was swollen and sore and her eyebrow was split. She applied a dab of bruisebalm to her knee and looked in the mirror again, muttering curses under her breath. She was due at a party in an hour and her eyebrow was still bleeding. If she showed up with a split eyebrow, everyone would know she'd been fighting. She ran down the hall and banged on Ayden's door. He wasn't there, apparently still out with the other boys at the snowball fight. Kyarri went back into her room, where Yukumi had just finished drawing her bath.

'Got into another fight, miss?'

'Yes. But at least I won this time.'

'Your bath is ready.'

By the time Kyarri had finished her bath, her eyebrow had puffed up. She put a tiny dab of bruisebalm on it as well. The bruising and swelling shrank, and the bleeding had stopped, but the cut was still plain. Kyarri sighed and turned to Yukumi.

'Do I look like I was just in the middle of a fight half an hour ago?'

'No, miss. I'd hardly notice it if I wasn't looking for it. But you need to get dressed now, miss, the party is in just a few minutes. Put on your shift and I'll do your hair for you.'

Kyarri slipped on her shift, then sat still while Yukumi pinned her mass of curls into something presentable. She slid her nicest dress, the one from Mistress Lalasa's shop, over her head, being careful not to muss her hair, and Yukumi laced it up in back for her, so it fit like it was supposed to. Yukumi helped her with her soft leather slippers and Kyarri examined herself in the mirror, cocking her head to one side.

The dress was a beautiful spring green, which went well with the brown leather slippers and brought out Kyarri's honey gold eyes. Yukumi had pinned the front part of her hair up, but left the rest to tumble freely across her shoulders and down her back, drawing attention away from the new cut on her face. Kyarri bit her lip, then smiled. She went to her trinket box and took out the snake bracelet that Dom had given her that morning. She put it on and looked again. Perfect.

There was a knock on the door, and Yukumi opened it. Dom was standing there in his nicest dress clothes. 'I was here to escort Kyarri to the party,' he explained. Then, he looked up and his face broke into a smile.

Kyarri smiled back, shyly. 'You're here as my escort?' Kyarri asked.

'Well, Jase and I discussed it, and we thought you should have one. If that's all right with you, of course.'

'Of course it is, dolt.'

He just grinned, not offended in the least, and offered her his arm. She took it, leaving the keys with Yukumi to lock up, and they went off to the party together.

They were halfway there when Dom said 'Kyarri? Kyarri?'

'Hm?' she asked, distractedly.

'You seem a bit nervous.'

Kyarri stared at him. 'Why would you say that?'

'Because I've said you name five times now,' he said.

'I guess I am a little bit nervous. I just…I want to make them all proud of me. The people who will bit at this party are the important people in my world, not counting you guys. And I'm also worried that you and Jase will find out the secret.'

'What secret?' asked Dom, curious.

'A secret nickname.'

'What sort of secret nickname?'

'If I told you, then it wouldn't be a secret, now would it?'

'You are impossible, Kyarri.'

'No. Just highly improbable.'

Dom shook his head and spent the rest of the way there trying to wheedle the nickname out of her.

'Please?' he was saying as he reached the room the party was being held in. 'Just one little hint?'

'No. Now let's go in, before your mother goes searching for you.' They walked into the party.

The first person to come over to them was Thayet, coming to welcome them to her party. They both bowed deeply before hugging her; she was, after all, their godsmother.

'That's funny,' Kyarri giggled. 'I never thought of that before. We're technically godssiblings!' Dom laughed too, taking joy in her happiness.

The happiness disappeared though, when Lord Sir Raoul and Duke Gareth the Younger came over and swept Kyarri up in hugs.

'Look at her!' Raoul exclaimed to Gary. 'Our little kitten is halfway to lioness already!'

Gary hugged her around the shoulders. 'Congratulations on surviving your first fall, Kitten. I'd stay and chat, but my wife wants me to go over there.' Kyarri looked after his pointing finger to see his wife, Lady Cytheria, beckoning to him.

'Goodbye, Gary,' Kyarri said. Raoul had drifted off to greet someone else, and when Kyarri turned back to Dom, he was grinning wickedly.

'Kitten?' he asked devilishly. 'They call you _Kitten_?'

'I swear by all the gods I know and several that I don't, if you tell Jase-'

'Tell me what?' Jase interrupted. Kyarri cursed.

'Nothing,' she said quickly, but Jase ignored her.

'Tell me what?' he asked again.

'So, my father and Gary had come over, to say hello, and they used a certain nickname for Kyarri. Could you imagine what nickname that might be?' Dom's grin hadn't faded one bit, and Jase caught the teasing vibe and grinned himself.

'No, Dom, I could not imagine. Would you mind telling me what that nickname was?' Jase grinned at Kyarri, who couldn't see, because her face was hidden in her hands.

'They called her _Kitten_. Isn't that sweet?'

'It was a joke!' she said, her voice muffled by her hands. 'When I was little, I was really stubborn and wilful and used to chase the local boys around brandishing sticks like swords.'

'What's changed?' Dom asked. Kyarri ignored him.

'Anyways, they used to joke that I was like a little version of the Lioness, therefore, they called me Kitten. It was a nickname for a five year old. It does not need resurrecting, thank you. Let's just leave it buried, far, far in the past.'

'Like the story about the dress?' Dom joked. His mother had come over, and she tugged his arm.

'Quit teasing the poor girl and come spent a minute with your mother. I've hardly seen you this year!' Dom allowed himself to be dragged away.

'So,' Jase said quietly, so that nobody but Kyarri could hear. 'Which should I call you; Princess, or Kitten?'

She mock-glared at him. 'Neither, if you don't mind.'

He frowned and touched a finger to her eyebrow. 'What did you do to yourself, Kitten?'

'Nothing.' The response was automatic and as soon as it left her lips, Kyarri mentally cursed herself; everything was something. Anyone who said nothing was obviously lying.

'Did you get into another scrap with Emmet and his crowd?' Jase asked, his voice filled with concern.

'No, I didn't,' Kyarri said adamantly. Jase raised his eyebrows at her, his mouth twisted in disbelief until she sighed and continued. 'I only got in a fight with Tristan. _And _I beat him soundly.'

'Really?' Jase looked happier about this than a well brought up boy ought to at hearing that one of his friends heavily damaged one of their peers. 'Where is he now?'

Kyarri shrugged. 'How should I know? Maybe he's crying to Lord Padraig;

maybe he's still lying on the floor of the stables with a broken face, gibbering.'

'Well _I'm _impressed,' Jase said, sounding impressed. 'He's three years older than you and at least five inches taller.'

Kyarri shrugged again. 'He's slow. And he was afraid of me, because I'm different, and he let that fear drive him. It made him make mistakes. Another day, he might have been the one beating me.'

'You're not even going to gloat a little?' Jase asked. 'Not even a smidgeon of smug boasting? You've earned it.'

Kyarri's face broke into a grin. 'Okay. I am just a _little _bit happy about beating him. But only a tiny bit.'

'Of course,' Jase replied, straight faced. 'Only the allowed level of self-satisfaction will be permitted at this party.'

Her smile widened. 'Okay, so I'm really proud of myself.'

'Proud of yourself for what?' Alanna asked from behind Kyarri, startling the girl.

'Proud of myself for finally understanding this concept in Mathematics,' Kyarri covered quickly. 'Jase has been helping me with it.'

'Really? Well, congratulations for that. But do you know what I'm more proud of you for?'

'What?' Kyarri asked.

'Beating the living crap out of that Runnerspring boy.' Alanna's eye had a wicked gleam to it.

'I don't know what you mean, 'Lanna,' said Kyarri innocently. 'He fell down.'

Alanna laughed and hugged her. 'You really are like a little version of me, the boys were right.'

Dom laughed to hear the King, his chief advisor and the Knight Commander of the Own lumped together under the undignified banner of 'the boys', but Kyarri was swelling with pride, that Alanna thought them to be so similar.

Later that afternoon, when they were walking back to the page's wing from the party, Kyarri told her friends exactly what had happened during the fight. '…and then I told him not to touch me ever again, and I left,' Kyarri said. She thought for a moment, then added, 'I was really, _really_ mad.'

'I'll bet,' Jase said.

'Tristan isn't the one I need to look out for though.'

'No?' Dom asked curiously.

'No. He was just afraid, and now he's more afraid. Emmet, though, he's crazy. You can see it in his eyes when he throws a punch. He's far more dangerous than Tristan and Jerel.'

'Then we'll watch him,' Jase said simply. 'We can't really do more than that.'


	14. Chapter 14

**A/N: Here's a good thing. My friends are home!**

**They've been away, travelling across Europe for a month, and I've missed them like a missing thumb; you can survive without it, but it's tough.**

**But now my thumb has returned! Hooray!**

The next few months passed in a blur. To Kyarri, it felt like she'd gone to sleep at Midwinter and woke up the first week of June.

The weather was hot and muggy as the pages readied themselves for the summer trip in the Royal Forest.

'Are you sure you've got everything?' Yukumi asked Kyarri, as Kyarri tied her pack shut.'

The girl nodded. 'I've double and triple checked everything.' A bunch of boys ran past her open door, then one doubled back, catching onto the door frame.

'Hey Princess,' Jase said. 'Good evening, Mistress Yukumi.' The maid curtseyed to him, then left.

'Hey, Jase, come in.' The prince did come in, sitting on the edge of Kyarri's bed while the girl sat on the floor. He had called her Princess ever since Midwinter, when it was just the two of them.

'Can I borrow your whetstone?' he asked. 'I can't find mine _anywhere.'_

Kyarri opened her pack and pulled it out, handing it to him. He took his dagger from its sheath on his belt and began sharpening it.

'Are you excited for your first trip as a page?' Jase asked.

Kyarri nodded. 'This year has just gone so fast! I barely had time to psych myself out for the little examinations before they were over, and now I'm nearly done my entire first year of pagehood.'

'You know, you've lost a lot of people money this year.'

'What?'

'Betting. I had Ayden, Sam and Owen betting good money that you wouldn't make it until Midwinter. The Lioness and my and Dom's dads made very good money too.'

Kyarri cocked her head at him. 'What made you bet that I'd stay?'

He grinned wolfishly. 'The mudfight. Your archery skills. And after the first week, there was just something that I knew you had. The Lioness has it, and Lady Kel, and my mum, and Buri. It's a sort of glow, this determination. That first week, when you talked about why you weren't going to leave, I was filled with this need to be something greater than I was. Princess, you're an inspiration.'

'You think?'

He nodded. 'You're carrying on what the Lioness started, and Lady Kel made possible. More and more young women are learning how to defend themselves. Down in the city, girls are being taught how to get rid of an attacker, and they pass on that knowledge. The numbers of assault and rape have gone down dramatically. Noble girls, including my buffle-brained sister, have teachers in archery, swordplay or staves. The _army_ has started letting girls in. None have joined yet, but it's allowed. And there're the Riders, which are now half women. It's people like you that have started that. The Lioness was god-touched. Everyone said she was a freak, a fluke, something that no one else could match. Then Lady Kel came along, and she proved that wrong, proving that girls could be knights if they tried hard enough. And now there's you. You are making it reality, a way of life. Many people have barely heard of you yet, but that is going to change, I just know it. You're going to make it, and you're going to inspire lots more people than me.'

Kyarri was staring out the window, her jaw set in that stubborn way that Jase now found so familiar. She nodded. 'You're right. I am going to make it.'

Jase smiled. 'I know you are.' Kyarri was so lost in thought, she didn't even hear him.

Kyarri was up well before dawn the next morning, dressed and ready to go when the first fingers of light pulled their way up over the horizon. She banged on her friends' doors, her pack slung over her shoulders. They opened them, still half-asleep, and followed her down to the stables, yawning and dragging their heels. Kyarri herself was too excited to be sleepy as she handed around the still-warm rolls, stuffed with ham and cheese that Yukumi had brought in a basket for them all.

'Come on, guys, hurry up!' Kyarri cried, skipping ahead of them.

'She is far too excited,' Dom muttered, his voice still rough with sleep.

'No, you're just far too cranky!' Kyarri yelled back over her shoulder, laughing.

'How did she hear me? I was twenty feet behind her at least, and I was talking quietly!'

Kyarri laughed again. 'I listen, Dom. And cheer up! It's a beautiful morning, the sky is clear and we are going on a ride!' The last few words echoed as she disappeared into the stables.

Ayden called after her. 'Did you 'fall down' again last night and take a knock on the head?'

Kyarri just laughed and began to tack up her horse.

After the training master had done an inspection and they had all passed muster they set out through the forest. Kyarri rode with her friends, slowly improving their moods with her joking and soon enough, they were all laughing and telling stories.

Kyarri had never ridden through any part of the forest in summertime, and by noon, they were much deeper into it than she had ever gone. They ate in their saddles but stopped to refill their water flasks from a stream that shone as clean water in Kyarri's Sight.

'Ky, why didn't you tell us you had the Sight?' Ayden asked, surprised.

She shrugged. 'It just never came up. Dom knew, I told him my first week, but other than that, it was never in conversation.'

'Well, what can you do with it?' Owen asked. They whiled away a good part of the afternoon discussing the Gift and the Sight, and how it differed between people. When the sun began to sink behind the trees, Lord Padraig stopped them, saying that this was where they would be staying.

There was a crude log building, made to serve as a mess hall, set in a large clearing with flat spaces for tents at one side and old cooking fires, set away from everything else. Lord Padraig started handing out tents to the boys, explaining how to set them up. Kyarri was just standing there, wondering for the first time where she would fit into all this, when the Shang Tiger came up to her.

'I'm here as your chaperone,' she explained, to Kyarri's immense relief. 'I've set my bed up over here.' She pointed to a dry spot below an overgrown willow tree. Kyarri nodded and set her packs there, then went to dig a latrine.

By the time all the boys had managed to set up their tents and those assigned to do so had cooked dinner, it was pitch black out and they had to see by the light of the fires they had lit. Lord Padraig was not pleased and gave an elaborate speech on the necessity of camp skills, which the pages attempted not to yawn through as they ate their supper; it had been a long day. After they had cleaned up, Kyarri cleaned her teeth and burrowed into her bedroll, falling asleep almost instantly, comfortable with the sounds of the forest all around her.

The next day, she was up before dawn again, dressing underneath the covers of her bedroll before getting up. She went to the stream along the edge of the clearing, cleaning her teeth and splashing water on her face to wake herself up before putting her hair in its usual tight braid. She went over to the far edge of the clearing, away from everyone else, and began doing her strengthening exercises as the first golden haze of sun came over the horizon. When she finished her last set of press-ups, she got up and stretched, then noticed the boys. They were ranged around, chatting, but all her friends were staring at her, again. Why was that always happening?

'Do you do that every day?' Ayden asked. Kyarri nodded, yawning widely.

'Since before I even started here. I'll never be as strong as you guys, but I can work to get closer. Come on, we're on breakfast.'

As they brought up the cooking fires, talk somehow turned to their families.

'I've got an older brother,' Ayden was saying. 'He's a first-year squire.'

'Does he have the Gift too?'

Ayden shook his head. 'I'm the only one in my family with it. It's not even very strong in me; I can only heal little things like bruises and scrapes. Give me a broken bone or a knife wound and I can't help. I can just tell exactly what's wrong, which any healer can do. I can bring light and start fires, as well as doing amateur protective shields, although Master Numair says that my shields could get really good if I keep practicing.' He swore at the log he was trying to get to light, glanced at the training master and gave it a prod with a finger. It burst into flame. Kyarri giggled.

'What about your family?' Ayden asked. 'Do you have any siblings?'

Kyarri shook her head, wondering what to say. This year, she had mostly avoided talking about her family whenever possible. But she felt that after a year of friendship, she owed it to these boys to be honest with them. 'Actually, I'm adopted.'

Ayden cocked his head at her. 'Really?'

'Mhm.'

'The Lioness and the Baron adopted you?'

'Along with Mistress Daine and Master Numair.'

He whistled softly. 'That's some kind of family.'

'It's definitely a lot to live up to sometimes. I'm kind of glad I don't have the Gift, actually. Being the adopted daughter of two mages with that kind of power is hard enough without feeling like you had to live up to it.'

'How old were you when you went to them?' Ayden asked, picking up a big bucket to get water in. Kyarri followed suit.

'I never asked. Um…let me think a second.' She thought back as far as she could remember, before her first memorable fight at the Swoop, before being given Chavi, before she knew she had the Sight, back to when she'd met the dragon Skysong. Her mind went straight past meeting Skysong, before that, before anything that she'd ever remembered before, to a small cave, with a small bed and lots of cozy blankets in curious, shifting colours, to a sleepy sundown where someone very gently stroked her hair, singing to her in an otherworldly language…

Kyarri shook her head, snapping herself back to reality. 'Ky? Are you okay?' Ayden asked.

'Why wouldn't I be?'

'You just completely zoned on me.'

'Sorry. I was just…remembering something that I'd forgotten. I think that I was about four.' She carefully tipped her bucketful of water into the pot above the fire.

'Who were your real parents?'

Kyarri smiled ruefully. 'You know, my friends always want to know that. I've never asked.'

'You don't care, or you don't want to know?'

Kyarri shrugged. 'I don't know. A bit of both, maybe? I like my life, I love my foster parents. I don't think that it really matters all that much either way.'

Still, something nagged at the back of her mind. Did it matter? Why? And what was that memory all about? Now it came back whenever she focussed on it, in sharpest detail, the colours of the sunset, prismatic through her half-closed lashes, her hand curled next to her cheek, just on the edge of her vision. This memory distracted her for the rest of the day, making her unsociable. Her friends noticed, but said nothing to her. Instead, they all asked Ayden what he'd said to her, but he was as baffled as they were.

Kyarri was on clean-up after supper, then she cleaned her teeth in the stream and went to bed. She was restless and edgy, jumping at the forest noises that had soothed her the night before. Finally, she put her dagger under her pillow, her bow and quiver in arms reach and was able to get to sleep.


	15. Fights and Kittens, Take Two

**A/N: Okay, so here are a million apologies; I haven't updated like I said I would.**

**That being said, I have a really excellent excuse.**

**So on Friday, I was partying with my recently rearrived friends, because I missed them like crazy. I ended up staying out way too late, especially since I had to be at work at eight on Saturday morning. Saturdays, I garden, but this isn't regular gardening, this is like insane, heavy duty weed pulling, where I very nearly get bested by thistles and blackberries for nine hours. So by the time I get home, I'm completely exhauste, but I have this person I have to go meet, because I'm going to be doing some babysitting for her, so I wipe the worst of the dirt off of my face, tidy my hair and run up there, still in my muddy jeans. Then I had to run back home, scarf dinner, and go to babysit somewhere else, where I mercifully got to sit down, finally, because this kid is the easiest babysitting job in the world; he's eleven and completely looks after himself, he even decided he was tired and went to bed early, which was a bonus. **

**So it's nine thirty, the kid went to bed half an hour ago, and the dog stands at the door and starts to whine, and I go, okay, Casey needs to go out, Casey being the dog. So I let her out, and she runs down the balcony steps and out into the yard at warp speed, and she's in the middle of the yard, I'm in the house, and she starts barking like crazy. I run out onto the balcony and yell at her to shut up. I can hear a rustling around the side of the house, and I'm thinking; _It's a raccoon or a skunk, at worst some vandalizing neighbourhood kids._ In case it's some vandalizing/thieving neighbourhood boys, and I'm one teenage girl, I run back through the door and pick up a cast iron frying pan that's sitting on the stove, more to settle my mind than for me to actually use. I start down the staircase, still yelling at the dog to shut up, and I'm almost halfway down when this huge black shape comes around the corner. There is a black bear standing at the bottom of the stairs.**

**Having lived halfway up a mountain my whole life, I've seen lots of bears. People come into your elementary school and teaches you bear aware skills, and the one thing that really sticks in your mind from those classes is; you do not want a scared bear cornered. Cornered, scared bears are the ones that attack people. Between the fence, the dog, and me, the bear is completely cornered, and it's fairly young for a bear, this is probably it's first summer away from it's mother, and I can tell that it is freaked out. **

**I'm standing halfway down the stairs, maybe ten feet away from it, holding this frying pan in front of me and yelling at the top of my lungs, whatever comes into my head, something along the lines of 'Go eat some raccoons or something! There's too many of them anyways! I know you're scared, but leave us alone!' and I'm backing slowly up the stairs, wondering if, if the bear comes after me, if I'll make it to the door. I make it to the open door and stand just in front of it, still yelling, because I want the bear to think that coming up onto the balcony is the worst option; if it did, I'd have to grab the kid and run across the street, and the bear would have to be put down for being too comfortable with humans.**

**It's kind of comical, because the three of us (the bear, the dog, and me), are all scared out of our minds, and we're all in this sticky situation together. Finally, the frightened dog backs up, still barking, and the bear runs through the gap and out the back, into the creek and down to the green belt down the street. The dog comes back as I call it, and we both go into the house. She's still barking like mad, because she's just so scared, and I had to sit down and wrap my arms around her for her to be quiet, and I'm on the phone, leaving messages for the neighbours, the parents, and the older foster brother, so their careful coming in, and now that everythings over, I'm shaking, and the kid's in his room, and he goes 'Why's Casey barking?', reall groggy, like he's half asleep, and I say 'It's just a bear, go back to sleep.' And he goes 'A bear?' and I just went 'You're dreaming. Go back to sleep.'**

**And that is why I didn't update. I was too busy facing down a bear. It's a true story, too.**

**Anyways, here's the chapter. Happy reading.**

She woke in the middle of the night. The air felt  
_wrong_, twisted and heavy, too black for a night with a gibbous moon. She lay there for a moment as fear came in a wave, starting and her feet and washing over her until her mind was swamped. She pushed it back, not knowing where it stemmed from, and got out of her bed silently, so as not to wake the Shang Tiger, who was sleeping soundly a few feet away.

Kyarri strapped her dagger's leg sheath against her calf and picked up her bow, slinging her quiver across her back. She crept into the trees, feeling as though even her quiet breathing was much too loud. She stepped on a twig and the crack sounded through the trees like a shout. She turned and looked back to camp, but it looked like no one had even stirred. She breathed out, not realizing that she'd been holding her breath. Something rustled overhead. There was a soft noise, like creaking leather in a saddle, then a louder, leathery _crack. _

Kyarri knew there was something there and pointed her bow upwards, ready to shoot if she needed to. Just after the sound, her loose hair was blown back by a gust of air, as if from a huge wingbeat.

The cloud that had been covering the moon had drifted away, and silhouetted against the sky was a huge black horse with bat-like wings. She saw the flash of silver claws as it dove at her. She shot at it and heard a small wet noise. The creature cried out and banked, then came for another pass, and there was a second one behind it, and a third behind that.

Kyarri swore, loudly, and shot again, then again. The first hurrok fell, hitting the ground with a loud thump and thrashing, coming dangerously close to the girls legs. She jumped back and tripped. From her place on the ground, she shot again, but the angle was awkward and she only nicked the edge of the second hurrok's wing. As she rolled to her feet it came too close, slashing her across the shoulder. She yelled in pain and panicked fear and sunk her dagger deep into its chest. It fell, knocking her over, its heavy body pinning her legs to the ground.

She tried to get her legs free in a panic, yelling at the top of her lungs as the third hurrok wheeled around for another attack. Her bow had been knocked a few feet away and her dagger, in the monster on her legs, was out of her reach. She looked up at the hurrok diving down at her, thinking _This is not the way I wanted to die._

Suddenly, bright white light tinged with red filled the clearing. Simultaneously, four arrows thudded into the third hurrok, the force of them knocking it back a few feet. More arrows came as it fell, turning it into a monstrous pincushion. People came, many of them, dragging the hurrok off of Kyarri's legs.

'Are you okay? You're hurt!' the Shang Tiger said, peering at Kyarri. The girl pushed her away.

'I'm fine, it's just a scratch.' She stood, a bit unsteadily.

'Let's get you back to camp,' Dom said, taking her by the arm, but she took him off.

'My knife. I need my knife.' She knelt down by the hurrok and pulled her knife from the monster's chest. It made a horrible wet noise; someone behind her vomited in the bushes.

Ayden was staring at the hurroks, eyes wide. 'Ky, how did you know they were out here?'

She shrugged, standing up again. 'It just felt…wrong. Too quiet. The silence was like someone yelling in my ear. So I came to look.'

'Good thing, too,' Jase said. They all surveyed the dead monsters, sprawled amongst the trees. Then, very neatly and quietly, Kyarri collapsed. Jasson jumped forwards and half-caught her, then swore. 'That "scratch", as she calls it, goes around her back, too, and it looks deep.'

He swung her gently up into his arms and carried her back to camp, being careful not to touch her wounds. He smiled down at her, fondly and worriedly. 'Our little Lioness.' The boys all around him nodded and touched her hair or hand before allowing themselves to be chivvied back to bed.

Kyarri woke up coughing, in a tent. An arm encircled her shoulders, helping her sit up and putting a cup to her lips. She drank, and the coughs subsided. She looked at the person; it was the Shang Tiger.

'Careful. I had to sew you up, you haven't been healed yet.'

Kyarri blinked at her, wondering what she meant. Then, the fight with the hurroks came back in a rush. 'Oh.'

'Yes, oh. You gave your friends quite a scare, missy.'

'What happened? After the fight, I mean?'

'You mean after you killed two full-grown hurroks by yourself, and you just a little thing? You fainted. Your so-called "scratch" on your shoulder goes all the way down your back. I stitched you up and put you in this bed here. Then we had Ayden scry in the fire for help, to get you fixed properly. Luckily, a few squads of the Own are nearby; they'll be here soon.'

'How long was I asleep?'

'All day. It's suppertime, now. Do you want something to eat?'

The girl nodded, stifling a yawn. 'Yes, please.' The Tiger left the tent to go get food. By the time she had returned, the girl had slipped back into sleep.

An hour later, she was wakened again, this time by a member of the Own that she Saw had the Gift. She sat up obediently and let him work a healing on her back.

The feeling of your skin knitting back together is an odd one without the simultaneous removal of stitches. The way this felt, Kyarri wanted to roll in gravel and scratch her back against trees like a bear, anything to get rid of the stinging, itchy fire, which didn't fade until the healing was completely finished, leaving just a raised, ropy scar, which he assured her would fade in a few weeks. He gave her water, then a bowl of leftover stew from dinner, which was stone cold, but she was too hungry to care. She ate it all, then fell back asleep, having restless dreams full of hurroks.

She woke before dawn again, a bit stiff but otherwise fine. Someone, the Tiger she hoped, had put her in a nightshirt at some point, although she didn't remember it at all. She stretched herself out, then dressed from her pack, which someone had brought in and put next to her bedroll, before leaving the tent.

No one was up yet as she crossed the clearing to the creek, where she washed the last of the sleep from her eyes and rinsed her mouth out. After all of the healings she'd had that year, she knew when she should do her exercises afterwards, and this felt like one of the times when that would be a bad idea, so instead she sat down under a tree, her back braced against it. She crossed her legs and closed her eyes, putting her hands on her knees, and breathed in slowly. Soon, she sank deep into her meditation.

When she came out of it, Raoul was sitting a few feet away, scratching something in a ledger, patiently waiting for her to finish. She got up and hugged him.

'Raoul! What are you doing here?'

He hugged her back. 'I came with the Own, remember? I was out checking on the villages with a couple of squads when we heard you were in trouble.'

'I'm sorry. I didn't mean to cause trouble.'

He laughed loudly, which Kyarri then realized didn't matter, because most of the pages were up and milling about. 'Kitten, you killed two hurroks, by yourself, and nearly got killed by a third, and you're apologizing for the trouble you caused?'

Kyarri huffed. 'Well I was trying to be polite!'

He laughed and ruffled her hair. 'Here come your friends.' She looked and, sure enough, Dom, Jase, Ayden and Owen were heading over to them. They all said hello to Raoul before practically jumping on Kyarri.

'Are you all right?'

'How did you know where the hurroks were?'

'You killed two hurroks!'

Raoul laughed again. 'Let the girl breathe. Kitten, I'm going to leave you to your friends now. I'll be here all day, and I have letters for you from your relatives, so come find me later. Dom, I want to talk with you later too.'

Kyarri turned back to her friends, where Ayden and Owen were falling over laughing. 'What?' she cried.

'Kitten?' Ayden howled.

'They call you Kitten?' Owen laughed.

Kyarri turned red. 'Yes.'

The two boys positively _howled _with laughter, with Dom and Jase trying to hide smiles. Kyarri whacked each of them on the forehead, then stormed off, mock-indignant.

But after that, the nickname stuck.

The rest of the trip was unremarkable. They worked on tracking and hunting, the way fights differ in forests than on land, and hand to hand combat in the clearing. Kyarri's back lost most of its stiffness, though the scar still remained, as did the memory of that night. She jumped at the littlest sound for the rest of the trip and was quite glad when they made it back to the castle, where the only sounds she heard at night were those of the other pages.

Kyarri was sitting with her friends in Owen's room, watching him finish packing.

'So, Kitten, where are you spending the summer?' Ayden asked.

'I'm spending the first week in the city, with…relatives.' She shot a glance at Jase, who grinned.

'Your Uncle Marek?' he asked, and she nodded.

'Then, who knows. I haven't heard from my parents about where they are this summer at all lately.' She shrugged. 'Maybe I'll end up coming back here. Mayhap I'll be going back to the Swoop. What about you guys?'

'I'm going to be staying here, unfortunately,' Jase grumbled. 'I wanted to go with the Riders, but Mum says "no, you're not allowed."' He used a snotty voice to impersonate his mother. 'I'm never allowed to do anything fun anymore.'

'I'm going home to Goldenlake,' Dom said. 'My mum won't be there, but my sisters will, and my father as well, at least for part of the summer.'

'Its home to Jesslaw for me, too,' Ayden put in. 'I get to spend my summer bashing raiders heads in.' Everyone nodded, knowing that Jesslaw was in hill country, full of raiders.

'What about you, Owen?' Jase asked, coming out of his brooding to speak to his friend.

'I'm staying in my family's house in the city. My family is coming in, since my sister gets presented to society this fall.'

'I'm going to be coming up here every day to practice, while I'm in the city,' Kyarri said. 'Maybe I'll run into you guys sometime.'

'Maybe you will.' Jase grinned.

There was a rap on the door; it was Yukumi. 'Miss, I'm sorry to interrupt, but I've a letter here from Baron George. It says it's important.' The girl took the letter, thanking the maid, and ripped it open, scanning the page. The boys all watched, anxious of bad news.

Then, Kyarri began laughing, her head thrown back. The boys stared curiously at the girl, who was laughing so hard that she had to sit down again.

'What is it?' Owen asked when she had calmed down again.

'Nothing, really. I just realized that I slept through my eleventh birthday, the day after I killed those hurroks.'

'That was your birthday?' Dom laughed.

Kyarri nodded. 'The summer solstice, the longest day of the year.'

'Well, happy birthday, I suppose.' Jase looked mildly confused. Kyarri burst out laughing again and soon, all of the boys had joined in, laughing until they couldn't breathe.


	16. Orem, Flash, and Flashes

**A/N: Okay, so I've been so lax about updating, but the problem is, I can only get up to chapter 18 for at least another week; my laptop's power supply died (finally, it's been sketchy for two years), and I have to wait for the new one to come.**

**And guys? The lack of reviews is seriously bumming me out. Some chapters, I don't get any. If no one's reading this, I'm just going to stop writing.**

'Are you sure you're okay riding into the city by yourself?' Jase asked, voice filled with concern.

'Yeah, I'll be fine. One of my…cousins is meeting me at the Temple District gates.'

'Why do you always pause significantly before talking about your relatives?' Dom complained. 'I feel like I'm missing out of some joke that only you and Jase know.'

Kyarri laughed. 'I'll explain someday. Not now, though. I have to leave; it's getting dark.'

'Goodbye, Kitten. Look after yourself.' The two boys waved her off as she rode out of the palace gates.

It was a hot summer evening and even her light cotton shirt and breeches were much too warm. She had pinned her hair all up off of her neck in an effort to cool herself down, but it had half fallen out already, as always.

Kyarri rode through Temple District, stopping at the Goddess' temple to thank her for the safe first year of pagehood that she had survived, and Mithros' temple to give thanks for her living through the hurrok attack. At both temples, she left offerings of incense.

She rode on, bowing from her saddle at the warrior-priestesses of the Great Mother. Kyarri smiled softly, knowing that one day, she would be as battle-ready as these tough women.

At the edge of Temple District, Orem waited for her, lazing against a tree just outside the gate. She jumped out of her saddle and hugged him.

'Princess! Congratulations; you've made it a whole year!' he cried, mock-shocked.

'And I'll make it for seven more,' she retorted. 'What've you been up to?'

Orem smiled crookedly. 'You know, this and that. Making a living.'

'You know how I feel about thievery, yes? That sometimes, it's necessary. I know you don't steal from those who don't have much, and part of your money goes to Marek, who uses it to look after his people. I accept that, and know that it's a good system. That being said, you could do so much more. You could be in the Own or the Riders in a couple of years.' She took up her horse's reins and walked beside Orem so that they could talk.

Orem shrugged. 'I like what I do. I'm happy. Besides, my life isn't that interesting. What about you? You killed two whole hurroks all by yourself!'

Kyarri resisted the urge to roll her eyes. 'When you say it like that, it sounds really impressive. It wasn't actually; I was stupid. I went into the woods alone and nearly got myself killed in the effort. Look!' She pulled the neck hole of her shirt to the side so that he could see the scar running across the top of her shoulder and down her back.

'Still, two fully-grown hurroks, on your lonesome, in the dark? That's impressive, Princess.'

Kyarri really did roll her eyes. 'Does everyone at the Court know?'

'Yup. We knew before you even made it back to the palace. The whole Court is in an uproar about it.'

'Great,' Kyarri said, mock cheerful. 'That sounds like the most thing I've done all year, going into the Court when everyone is talking about me!'

Orem laughed and mussed her hair even further than it was already. 'Lighten up, Princess. Marek is so happy about having you come visit, it's put everyone in a right happy mood, see?'

They had drawn right up to the Dancing Dove, and indeed, Kyarri saw that everyone was in a good mood; even through the walls she could hear happy laughter. An hostler was waiting to take her horse to the stables and her packs upstairs to the room she would be using while she was there. Orem pushed open the door and bowed her in, just as Jase had done just before Midwinter. Kyarri smiled at him and went in.

The Court _was_ in an uproar over it. She couldn't walk two feet without someone else pounding her on the back, congratulating her and offering her drinks. She declined the drinks, making her way to the table by the fire where Marek had his throne. He stood to hug her tightly.

'Look at you, breeches and sword and all! If we didn't know better, we'd think you were a knight or sommat!' He laughed at his own joke, even though it wasn't that funny, and called to the barkeep to bring her something to drink. 'Come, sit, tell me all about the hurroks.'

Kyarri spent a good part of the evening with Marek, relating stories of her many fights during the year. She stayed up much too late for someone who had been up until dawn, and kept telling stories until she fell asleep at the table. She was shaken awake by Orem and his friend Flash, and they helped her to bed.

Dawn broke across the room, not in its usual wash through the slats in her shutters, but full on, a proper glass window amplifying the light until it didn't just hit Kyarri, it punched her, burning through her eyelids. She sat bolt upright with a gasp, then closed her eyes and laughed at herself. She got up and dressed, doing her morning exercises, marvelling at how easy her floor press-ups were getting. She washed her face in the cold water in the basin before buckling on her sword belt and going downstairs.

No one was up in the Dancing Dove, so Kyarri slipped out quietly, saddling Chavi. She rode up to the Daymarket, ignoring the looks she got as she did so; a girl alone wearing breeches and a sword. At the edge of the market, she paid a boy she knew as a message runner for the Court to watch her horse at the edge of a fountain as she did her shopping, buying a warm breakfast which she ate in the saddle as she slowly made her way through Patten District up Palace Way.

Kyarri practiced hard that morning, first at staffwork, then at swordplay, then her unarmed combat drills, hitting, blocking, kicking, and rolling. The last thing she worked on was her archery.

In the year since she had started training, she had slowly been moved up, target by target, until she now used the fidgety, difficult targets that were only used by her and a couple of fourth years.

She focussed on one now, a ball of loosely bunched burlap, tied with twine and hung from a pole. She knocked an arrow and brought her bow up, aiming without slowing, sending her arrow mostway through the target, until the fletching caught in the burlap. She sent three more arrows straight through in the same way, then went to collect them. As she did, she heard someone wolf-whistle.

She turned to see Jase, sitting on the fence at the edge of the yard. She waved at him before getting her arrows, and after retrieving them, went to sit next to him.

'Goddess, Kitten, your shooting is good.'

'Thank you.'

'I knew that you were good already, but I haven't been watching you much this year, other than being horrified at myself every time you got one target up from me, then redoubling my efforts.'

Kyarri laughed. 'On a straight target, I can split an arrow in half. Want t'see?'

Jase nodded. Kyarri stood in front of the target that Jase's group usually used, a small round target. She fixed an arrow to the string and shot it into the centre of the bull's eye. Then, she knocked another arrow and fixed her eyes on the arrow already in the target, using her Sight to narrow in on it until she could see all the tiny little imperfections in the fletching. In one swift movement, she brought the bow up and shot, splitting the first arrow into two curling halves.

Jase whistled again. 'Okay, now you've made me feel really inferior.'

'Ah well. You can still beat me at hand to hand combat, and swords, and of course, staffwork.'

'Staffwork, of course. I won't rub it in, although it is tempting. But hand to hand and swords? You're good, Ky. Maybe better than me.' He pulled a face and tugged at his harness, which all the second, third and fourth year pages wore. 'I must've grown this year; my harness doesn't fit right anymore. I need a new one.'

'Can I have your old one?' Kyarri asked. Jase stared.

'Why?'

'I don't want to feel like I'm slogging through mud my whole first week. I'll start wearing it in the summer and adjust to it beforehand.'

Jase shrugged. 'You're crazy, but why not?' He slipped the harness over his head and handed it to her. 'I'll get a new one from the tanners this afternoon.'

'Thanks.' Then she thought of something. 'Hey, Jase, what're you doing tonight?'

The boy shrugged. 'I dunno. After watching you, I'll probably be practicing my archery.' Kyarri elbowed him, grinning. 'Why?'

'You should come down to the city. I'm only here another week, then I'm home to the Swoop for the rest of the summer. I want to see you before I leave.'

'So you are going back to the Swoop?'

'Yeah, George said I should in that letter he sent me, the one that Yukumi brought me in Owen's room the other day.'

'Oh, speaking of that letter, your birthday!' Jase said. 'I got you something.'

'Jase, you didn't need to do that.'

'Yes I did. I'll bring it with me tonight. So, what time should I be at the Dancing Dove?'

He arrived just after sundown, wearing cityman's clothes, but made very well, much what a rich merchant's son would wear. Kyarri beat the swarm of rogues away from him and dragged him over to where she sat with Orem and Flash.

'In case you all didn't remember, Orem, Flash, this is Jase. Jase, this is Orem and Flash.' Flash smiled shyly, but Orem got up and clapped Jase on the shoulder, welcoming the younger boy loudly. They all sat down for a drink and a chat.

'What's life in the palace like?' Flash asked. She was a tiny K'miri girl wearing a long tunic over leggings and boots, feminine and functional at the same time. Looking at her, you'd never guess that the shy fifteen-year-old was a master swordswoman.

'It's…different. I work very hard and I was really bad at most things, at first, but I'm improving. I have lots of friends, and I like it.'

'Have you met the prince?' Flash asked, excitement in her green eyes.

Kyarri hid her smile behind her mug of barley water as she nodded. 'He's actually a friend of mine.' Jase was listening to their conversation with half an ear, the rest of his attention turned to Orem, who was telling a story.

'What's he like?' Flash asked.

'Well, he's very kind, and loyal. When I fought those hurroks, he was one of the ones who came out and shot the third one. I don't know how many times this year I've passed out and he's caught me. He's very like an older brother figure, just like how Orem is with me, teasing and ruffling my hair.' By this point, Jase had figured out exactly what was going on and shot Kyarri a look. She smiled. 'He has his failings, though. He's not very good at archery, and his poetry is _disastrous_.'

Flash giggled. 'Really?'

'Really. And he's way too modest, almost to the point that you want to hit him for it. Do you know any people like that?'

'Yeah. You.'

Kyarri elbowed the older girl, who laughed. Jase shot Kyarri a humour-filled look that clearly said "I'll get you for this later."

'So, what're you _girls_ talking about?' Orem ribbed at them, a playful smile on his face. 'Marriages and face paint?'

Kyarri shook her head. 'We were just talking about swords, actually. Flash has promised to teach me a new way to rip annoying young thieves into pieces.'

Orem winced. 'Remind me to stay on your good side.'

'Wait until you see her spar,' Jase put in. 'I went up to the Palace one day to watch her and her friends, and it's a treat. It's a fine thing to see, a girl who can hold her own in a sword fight.'

'You should see Flash fight. It's like watching lightning dancing.'

The swordswoman blushed. 'Princess! Quit it!'

'I'd like to see that,' Jase said, smiling charmingly. 'Lightning dancing, like the warrior women of the legends.'

'Where I come from, Master Jase, warrior women aren't a myth; they're a reality.' Flash sounded a bit miffed.

'No offense meant, Miss.'

'I'm no "Miss"!' Now Flash sounded more than a bit miffed.

'I just can't do anything right with you, can I?' Jase asked, half smiling. 'Could you give a guy a break?'

Flash's face broke into a smile and she replied, but Kyarri wasn't listening. Something had caught her eye, on the very edge of her sight, or maybe on the edge of her Sight. She turned her head to look, but it was gone. She turned back to her friends, and there it was again, just in the corner of her eye, a flash, so quick that she didn't know what it was, even in her Sight.

'What's wrong, Princess?' Orem asked. 'You're twitching something awful.'

Kyarri faked a reassuring smile. 'It's nothing.' He didn't look sure, but she ignored him. Then, her mouth twisted into a crooked grin. 'Hey Orem.'

'Yeah, Princess?'

'I challenge you to a fight. Knives and wits only.'

'Princess, are you sure?' Orem looked apprehensive.

'What, are you scared?'

'Yeah, a little. I watched you fight Gavin last fall; I know you're good. One of us is bound to get hurt. I don't think that this is a great idea.'

'Live a little!' Kyarri's face was open and teasing, the flashes of light in her eyes forgotten.

Orem's face broke into a relaxed grin, something beyond his years cracking to bring out a laughing boy, barely thirteen. 'You're on.'


	17. The Fight and the Nightmarket

And so, ten minutes later, they had stripped off their boots and socks (and for Orem, his shirt as well), and Kyarri was braiding her hair up out of the way. Orem sat on the floor next to her, stretching himself out.

'No hard feelings when you lose, okay Princess?'

She laughed. 'I've been training at the Palace for a year. What chance do you have?'

'I've been training on the streets for thirteen years.'

'I've trained with Shangs.'

'I've trained with the King of Thieves.'

'I've trained with the last King and this one.' Kyarri sat in a straddle and stretched her back out, touching her toes.

Orem was stumped by this. 'Well, I'm bigger.'

'You're also slow as molasses.'

'Are you guys ever going to stop bickering and fight, or am I going to be here all night?' Jase asked.

'Oh, hush up. You're just cranky because I didn't challenge you.'

'That's because you think I'd beat you.'

'No, that's because I _know _you'd beat me.' Kyarri retorted.

'But he's littler than I am!' Orem cried.

'And he's fast, and strong, and he's pounded it into himself so much that he doesn't even have to think about which move goes next.'

Jase blushed. 'I'm not _that_ good, Princess.'

She chose to ignore his comment. 'So, Orem Cityman, are you ready to fight?'

He stood up and offered her his hand. 'Yes I am, Princess Kyarri of the Court of the Rogue.'

Tables had been pushed aside to make room and everyone had gathered around to watch. Kyarri thanked the Trickster, god of thieves and knife fights, among other things, that Marek was out, because she was sure he would have stopped this. She had always wondered if she were better than Orem, even since they were children. Now, she would find out.

They bowed to each other, and then settled into fighters crouches. Flash gave the signal to start.

We circled carefully, sizing one another up. I knew that if he got too close to me, I was gone. He was too big and he could flip me out the door with one hand if he could.

Orem rushed her, attacking too soon, and she danced back, then came back in again as he tried to regain his balance, nicking his forearm with her blade. He grinned at Kyarri as they circled. 'Nice one.'

Kyarri nodded in thanks, but said nothing, concentrating her whole self on the fight. She leapt in towards him, but he blocked her bladed with his own, forcing her back. He kept coming towards her and struck; she blocked and brought her foot up into his stomach. There was a cheer from the crowd, but she barely heard it.

Ky was going to a place in her head, which she did sometimes when she fought. Her pulse thundered in her ears and she lost any feeling of pain or discomfort, all of her attention on the feeling of motion, the way her muscles moved as she struck and blocked and struck again. Her eyes were zeroed in on her opponent, watching the muscles of his bare chest to anticipate his moves, her breathing steady. It was like meditation, this place.

Light flickered at the edge of her eye again, distracting her for the barest moment.

The split second was enough; Orem came at her, thumping her on the wristbone with the hilt of his blade, trying to get her to drop her weapon.

Pain blossomed on her wrist but she ignored it, instead ducking under his guard, punching him in the throat so he choked a bit, his eyes watering. He kept her at a distance as his vision cleared, and then came in again, quick as a flash to slice a shallow cut in her arm, tearing her shirt. She smashed the ball of her foot into his kneecap, then twisting her blade around his, locking the crossguards and pulling his knife out of his hand, sending it into the ceiling where it hit and stuck, quivering in a rafter. She hooked her leg around his, sending him onto the ground with a thump, where she knelt on one of his arms, her knife at his throat.

'I yield.' The Dancing Dove erupted into cheers.

Kyarri took her knife from her friend's throat and stood, offering him a hand up, which he took.

'Goddess, you're fast.'

'Thank you. You know, you nearly had me there.'

'No I didn't. Actually, I have the feeling that you were toying with me,' he said, wiping blood from his arm with a handkerchief before putting his shirt back on.

'Is it deep?' Kyarri asked, pointing at his arm.

He shook his head. 'Not at all. It's not even bleeding anymore. You?'

'No. It's pretty shallow, just long.' She pulled up her sleeve, trying to see the extent of the damage, then gave up.

'Princess, you were great!' Jase came over and hugged her, catching a look from Orem.

'Thanks.' She wiped her forehead on her sleeve, then giggled when she realized that she hadn't wiped sweat from her face, she'd wiped blood onto her face.

Jase laughed and dipped his handkerchief in water, wiping the blood off. Then the rest of the crowd came to congratulate her and Orem, and then there was music struck up and people started begging Flash to show them sword dances, which she declined with a blush, as always. Then the drinking picked up and it got too loud and too hot in the Dove.

Kyarri slipped through the crowd to Jase and tugged his sleeve. 'C'mon, let's get out of here.'

He followed her out, making much bigger waves in the crowd than she did.

'How do you do that?' he demanded when they were outside.

'Do what?'

'You just slip through crowds and no one notices you. You stand still, even when you're shooting a bow and I have to squint to see you, even though you're right there.'

Kyarri shrugged. 'I don't know. I never really thought about it before.' She leaned against the wall, biting her lip in concentration. She felt something inside her shift and then settle. She looked at Jase.

'Ky? You do know that that's really scary, right?'

'What?'

'I can barely see you.'

'But I'm standing right here!'

'It's strange. You aren't invisible, exactly, and you didn't change colours like those lizards in Master Linden's study. You're still there, but it's like one of those pictures, that you look at one way and its one thing, and then you look at it another way and you see something completely different and wonder how you couldn't see it before. If I look one way, I see a wall, but I turn my head and nothing changes, but suddenly you're there.'

'Weird.'

'Could you please stop it? You're giving me a headache.'

Kyarri thought back to that shift inside her and twisted it with her mind. Jase sighed with relief. 'Oh, that's better, thanks.'

'Do you want to go to the Nightmarket? I've never been, but it's supposed to be really interesting.'

'I don't know…' Jase bit a lip in thought. 'I don't think that I should take you to the Nightmarket. You might get hurt or something.'

Kyarri laughed. 'By who, a thief? I'm the Princess of the Lower City; after the last year, they all know my face. It's you I'm more worried about, but you should be all right if you're with me.'

'Fine. But take your sword.'

'Such a worry wart. I've got my sword, right here, see?'

The two of them set off on foot towards the Nightmarket.

They didn't return until several hours after midnight, laughing and delighted by everything they had seen. Kyarri had done part of her Midwinter shopping, knowing that she might not have time for it in the fall, and they had watched jugglers and seen many beautiful things that they hadn't seen before; jewellery from the Copper Isles, swords of Carthaki steel, Yamani _shukusen, _fans that were also deadly weapons. Gypsy children ran through the streets in brightly coloured clothes, colourful ribbons tied in their hair and chains of tiny bells around the ankles of the girls, and they danced, twirling, whirling leaping dances that made you want to join in, whirling with them through the burst of colour, while their parents sold exotic things from far-off places. Kyarri ran her hands over beautiful dresses of red silk and belled silver anklets like the gypsy girls', beautifully made and lighter than air.

When Kyarri had waved Jasson off on his horse, she re-entered the Dancing Dove, carrying a bag filled with her purchases, and managed to avoid Marek, who saw her, but was engaged in a discussion, and went up to bed, knowing that she would catch a scolding in the morning but was too happy to care.


	18. Summer

**A/N: Good news!! I have a laptop to work on while mine is gone, so I'll have the next chapter up in a couple of days. Until then, happy reading.**

**And oh, by the way, have you ever tried toast with tahini and honey? It's so incredibly yummy, especially with some black coffee to cut the sweet.  
**

She _did _catch a scolding, first thing out of bed. She'd dressed and gone downstairs, still half asleep, and Marek was waiting for her.

'Don't you ever sleep?' she demanded.

'You fought Orem last night _and_ you went out without telling me where you were going or when you'd be back.'

'I won, and I was with Jase, and I had my sword, and we went to the Nightmarket, not traipsing around half the city.'

'How did you know that neither of you would get seriously hurt in that fight?'

Kyarri sighed. 'I didn't, but there were enough mages around to heal the entire place.' She tapped the corner of her eye with one finger. 'I have the Sight, remember?'

Marek sighed. 'Too much like George, that's your problem, Princess.'

'I had fun, though, I really did. I've never seen most of those things before.'

He laughed. 'I'm glad. And I ought to scold you properly, but I'm not actually angry in the least, I just know that it's the right thing to do. But you're growing, lass. Soon enough, you'll be able to beat _me _in a knife fight, and then I'll have to retire and pass this whole mess onto some other young buck, before one of them guts me to get it.'

Kyarri laughed. 'I don't think I'll ever be able to beat you with knives.'

'I don't know, from what I heard of last night, maybe someday. Come on, let's go get breakfast.'

Kyarri skipped training that morning, instead spending the entire day with her friends in the city, eating breakfast with Marek and visiting what was worth seeing with Orem and Flash. Once again, she went to bed late and happy.

The rest of the week passed with fun. Each morning, she got up and rode up to the palace, where she spent the morning with Jase in the training yards. They ran through only the routine drills, never sparring. Afternoons were spent differently each day; one day she went with Jase to visit Owen in his family's city house, another, she spent with her grandparents. Evenings were spent in the Dancing Dove, telling stories and playing cards, and late at night, Kyarri and Jase would go to the Nightmarket, often with Orem or Flash tagging along, seeing the sights.

Her last night, they stayed out until dawn. When they got back to the Dancing Dove, she hugged each of them tightly, saying she'd see them in September. She stood out front of the tavern and waved them out of sight, then stood there, faded into the shadows for a moment, watching the lack of movement on the street. Then, she went inside.

Sitting at the long table by the fire with Marek was George, waiting to take her home. She ran up to the table and hugged him tightly.

He stood, laughing. 'Look at you!' He held her at arms length to look at her before hugging her again. Unlike her other three guardians, she hadn't seen him since the previous summer. 'Lady Page, slaying two hurroks and beating Orem in a knife fight!'

She grinned, flapping a hand at him. 'He's slow, George. He needs to practice more.'

He laughed and slung an arm around her shoulders. 'And you're out at all hours with your friends, doing Trickster knows what.'

'We were in the Nightmarket, every night this week. There's this band of travelling magicians in the city, they're positively marvellous.' He gave her a look, half a smile and half concern. 'Don't look at me like that, George, I was perfectly fine. I was with Orem, although he's not all that much protection, but I had my sword, and Flash, and Jase, who both had their swords.'

'Jase?' George raised his eyebrows.

'Yeah, you know, my friend Jase, the son of a rich merchant.' She gave him a Look. 'I wrote to you about him.'

'Oh, that Jase.' There was a laugh in his voice. Kyarri yawned hugely. 'You know, lass, as much as I like to see you having fun, you probably should have got _some_ sleep. We leave in an hour.'

She yawned again. 'I'll be fine. I'm just going to go get changed now.'

'All right, then. We'll have a cup of tea and some breakfast for you when you come back.'

The girl climbed the stairs, yawning and smiling, sleepy and happy.

They set out an hour later as promised, riding their horses out through the city gates. Kyarri had chosen to wear a dress with leggings underneath, to keep the day's heat at bay, and this combined with her sword belt attracted stares. She didn't even notice, concentrating on not falling asleep in the saddle.

They rode quietly, as Kyarri was half asleep. Midmorning they stopped by a creek, a ways out of the city, to refill their water flasks, as they were already empty due to the heat. Kyarri splashed water on her face and the back of her neck to cool herself down, and pinned her hair up off her neck.

After that, she was a bit more awake, and they talked for the rest of the day, Kyarri telling him all about her life and detailing her fight with the hurroks, much as she had done for Marek. As the sun began to lower, though, she got sleepier and sleepier. She was glad when they reached an inn, because if they'd had to camp, she'd probably fall asleep in the middle of putting a tent up. She did, however, fall asleep during dinner, leaning against George. She slept soundly all night, not waking until the sun was well up in the sky, over-warm and groggy.

Before she knew it, she was riding through the Swoop's gate. She was so glad to be home that she nearly cried; she hadn't realized how much she'd missed it.

Alanna wasn't home, but Daine was waiting for her in the courtyard.

'Goddess, Ky, you're getting so grown up.' Kyarri resisted the urge to roll her eyes, having heard this at least a half dozen times that week. 'You need breastbands, and you look so much the lady page, with your dress and sword.'

Kyarri looked up at her. 'Breastbands? Really?'

Daine laughed. 'Hadn't you noticed?'

When she was unpacking in her room, Kyarri's reflection caught her eye. She put down the pile of shirts she was holding and looked at herself full on. She'd never thought of it before, but Daine was right. There was a definite wobbling under her shirt. How hadn't she noticed? She shrugged and finished unpacking, fairly unconcerned by this development.

She ate dinner with Daine and George and stayed up late talking, finally falling asleep in the drawing room. George carried her to bed.

She woke at dawn, like always. Adding one of the itchy new breastbands that Daine had left in her room to her usual attire, she dressed. Then she turned to her bag, where, in the middle of the things that she hadn't unpacked, was Jasson's old harness that he'd given her. She picked it up and settled it over her shoulders.

It made everything harder. She only got through half as many floor press-ups as usual before her form gave. Her sword drills were sluggish and even mounting Chavi took two tries while wearing the harness. Her daily run between the Swoop and Numair's tower exhausted her completely, the first couple of times to the point where she had to ride back. She thanked the Goddess that she'd thought to try it first in the summer and pushed through the discomfort that the harness brought. She wore it every day and slowly, she adjusted to the weight. She even spent the last couple of weeks of summer with another set of weights added on, and had barely adjusted by the time she arrived back in Corus.

She was unpacking when the boys all stormed into her room. 'Ky! How long have you been back?'

'I just got in.' She hugged each of them in turn.

'Took you long enough! We didn't think you'd make it back in time; we've only got an hour until we get to see who sponsors the new first years.'

'Are you going to sponsor someone?' Owen asked, sinking into a tailor's seat next to her on the floor.

Kyarri laughed. 'You really think that anyone would want to be sponsored by The Girl?'

'You have _got _to stop calling yourself that, Kitten.' Dom's voice was light, but his face was serious. 'Girl, boy or stable cat, you're a good page.'

'A great page, really. How many first year pages could have taken on three hurroks and won?' Jase looked around at the other boys, who murmured agreement.

Kyarri rolled her eyes. 'Everyone has _got _to stop talking about that. I had to tell that story about a million times this summer; I'm sick of it! And it was only two hurroks.'

'Oh, only two hurroks,' Dom said in a teasing voice. 'Pardon me, _milady._ Two hurroks, that can just be dismissed. It's nothing really, only _two._'

Kyarri thumped him on the knee, the closest part she could reach. 'Shut up, Dom.' Then she decided to change the subject. 'How were your summers?'

'Mine was normal,' Owen shrugged. 'A bit boring, really.'

'Illuminating,' Jase said. Everyone stared at him. 'I made a new friend, who taught me some interesting stuff.'

'Who?' Ayden asked.

'His name's Orem.' His voice was light and still, but he had a mischievous twinkle in his eye.

Kyarri whirled to look at him. 'Oh? And what sort of things did you learn from my cousin, Your Highness?' She loved reminding him of the moral dilemma of spending time with people that broke the laws written by his predecessors, that he, as a future knight and king, was supposed to uphold.

He shrugged. 'This and that.' It was Orem's phrase to talk about stealing, and the arts that went along with that. Kyarri narrowed her eyes at him as he grinned widely.

'Okay, what is the big secret about Kyarri's family?' Ayden asked. 'It's driving me crazy.'

'I'll introduce you to them, someday. You won't get it until you meet them.' He just threw up his hands and sighed. Kyarri giggled. 'What did you do this summer, Ayden?'

'I went bandit-hunting, with my father. That's what he does, mostly. Lady Kel, she's a friend of my father's, she came with us, for a while. She's really interesting, full of stories about the Scanran war and the Yamani Islands. She taught me some tricks with the spear while we were out there.'

'I've never met her,' Kyarri said. 'Well, not since I was tiny. I wish I could talk with her.'

'You can. She's here at the palace for a few weeks; she rode back here with me.'

'From what I remember, she's pretty quiet,' Dom said. 'She's my father's old squire and friend,' he added, by way of explanation.

'She is sometimes, but when she gets into telling stories, there's nothing like it,' Owen said. 'She sounds like one of those storytellers down in the city.'

Jase smiled at Kyarri, and she smiled back, remembering their week of Nightmarket gallivants.

'What about you, Dom?'

'I sat around Goldenlake, being annoyed by my sisters.' He gave a huge, world-weary sigh. 'Nothing interesting happened at all; I was bored stiff. What about you, Kitten?'

'I spent some time with family in the city, then went home to the Swoop. I spent the summer training with the guardsmen. It was quiet, but I liked being home. I missed the ocean.' The bell rang. 'Come on; time to size up the new kids.' They all filed out of her room to gather in the hallway. Looking at their retreating backs, she smiled, glad to have friends.


	19. Tilting and Monsters

**AMAZING GOOD NEWS!!!!**

**MY NOVEL IS FINISHED!!!**

**Well, okay, its only the first draft, but still, 64 days, 23 of which I wrote on, 16 nights with less than three hours sleep when I still went to work the next day, several gallons of coffee and one meltdown all over my friend Kirsten, when I was sure that I'd never finish it, and now it's _done_.**

**I'm so happy I could burst.**

**So, I'm sorry not to have updated, but you see my dilemma, in trying to finish the novel and writing this at the same time. You'll have another chapter tomorrow, I promise.  
**

Most of Kyarri's friends were late to lunch on the first day of training, dragging their feet.

'Why aren't you exhausted?' Ayden demanded. 'You have your first week with the harness; you should be the tiredest of all of us!'

'Is tiredest a word?' asked Dom.

Kyarri shrugged. 'I took Jasson's old harness. It was nearly worn out anyways, and I wore it all summer to get used to the weight.'

Dom slapped a hand against his forehead. 'Adding extra weights in the summer would have been brilliant, because then I wouldn't feel like killing you right now for not sharing the idea.'

'Please don't; I have all my afternoon classes to get through, first.'

Dom tugged her braid gently. 'Sometimes, Kitten, you are aggravatingly clever.'

'Why do you call her Kitten?' asked Devan of Fenrigh, the boy Owen was sponsoring, one of that year's five new pages.

'Because we, and my and Jase's fathers before us, noticed her temperamental resemblance to the Lioness, except she's younger, therefore, she's Kitten.'

'You've met the Lioness?' Devan asked Kyarri, eyes wide. All the older boys burst out laughing while Devan just looked confused.

None of the page's teachers believed in easing them back into the work schedule, so they each had a huge pile of homework by the end of the day. Kyarri had offered her room up for studying that night and found it full. She shared some of the Yamani tea that Daine had given her for Midwinter with the boys, most of whom had never tried it before, but enjoyed it very much.

'Have Runnerspring and his friends bothered you any more?' Owen asked, sipping his.

Kyarri shook her head. 'No. Tristan and Jerel are squires now, but I keep getting evil looks from Ivan and downright insane ones from Emmet.'

'They'd best not try anything this year.'

'They're probably getting their team strong again,' Dom half-joked. 'They both took on new pages, probably to train as backup in fights.'

Kyarri laughed, a little bitterly, since she realized that he was probably right, before turning back to her Mathematics. 'Owen? Can I have some help?'

Later that week, the armsmaster announced the beginning of tilting lessons for the second years. Kyarri resisted the urge to squeak with fear. She watched Owen demonstrate, as asked, then shakily accepted the lance that was offered to her.

Ivan, her year mate and one of Emmet's cronies, went first. His lance hit the shield, but off centre; he got a buffet from the sandbag.

Tiny blonde William of Nond went next, hitting similarly to Ivan; it looked as if the sandbag would knock the boy out of the saddle.

And then it was Kyarri's turn. She turned Chavi to face the tilting lane, taking deep breaths. The Lioness' voice was in her head; _You can do this._ Out of the corner of her eye, she could see her friends watching from their line-ups, Owen with his fingers crossed for luck.

'Whenever you're ready, Page Kyarri.' The armsmaster's voice was sarcastic, but Kyarri didn't notice it; to her, everything was coming through a fog. She took one last breath and kicked Chavi into motion, thundering down the lane. In her vision, the target stayed locked as she moved with the horse, lowering her lance, all her attention on that wooden shield.

She came almost to it, her lance hit it, no, it barely scraped the edge, bouncing off and nearly hitting her horse in the head. Chavi half-reared, startled, and Kyarri was too busy trying to get her under control to remember the sandbag, and as it hit her with a _thump_ she fell forwards in the saddle, which spooked her horse even more. Chavi reared fully and Kyarri wasn't sitting straight in her saddle; she was sent flying through the air to land in the mud. The whole thing was over in less than a second.

She picked herself up and heaved on Chavi's reins, forcing the frightened horse back onto all fours. She petted Chavi's nose, singing softly to her to calm her, fighting back tears of shame. Kyarri kept her head high as she walked Chavi off of the tilting lane, ignoring the jeering and laughing boys.

She took two more runs that day, each one barely hitting the edge of the shield, giving her more bruises on her back to add to the ones on her pride. As she turned to go to the stables, the armsmaster stopped her.

'Page Kyarri, your tilting needs a lot of work, and you need to keep your mount under control at all times. Today's work was abysmal, and I hope to see better tomorrow.'

'Yes, sir.' Kyarri half-bowed from her saddle, then spurred Chavi on, wishing her hair was down so she'd have something to hide her face behind.

She dismounted in front of the stable and led Chavi in, head bowed. As she passed Dom, who was already grooming his horse, Ebony, he came over.

'It's okay, Ky, it was your first try.'

'It was terrible.'

'No, really, it wasn't that bad,' he assured her.

She looked at him in disbelief. 'I nearly hit my horse in the head and fell out of the saddle. How much worse could it get?'

He considered this for a moment. 'You could have actually hit your horse in the head.' Kyarri shook her head at him. 'Oh, come on. Not even a smile?'

She just flapped a hand at him and continued to Chavi's stall. As she groomed the horse, she talked to her softly, apologizing for the mishap.

Jasson came over and leaned on her stall door. 'Hey Princess.'

'Hi Jase.'

They stayed in silence for a moment, her brushing down her horse and him leaning there, watching her, then he spoke. 'It wasn't that bad, you know.'

'It was that bad. And don't try to tell me it wasn't,' she added quickly, as he opened his mouth to retort. 'It was terrible. Hopefully, I'll do better next time. For now, let's talk about something else.'

He sighed. 'Fine, let's change the subject. What was that song you were singing to your horse after she spooked?'

Kyarri thought for a second, recalling what she'd been singing. 'It's just a song from when I was little.' She closed her eyes and sang a couple of lines, then opened her eyes again. Jasson was staring at her, and so was Ayden, who had been walking past and had stopped to listen. 'What?' she asked, self-consciously.

Jasson ran his fingers slowly through his hair. 'That's really strange.'

'Thanks. That clears everything right up,' Kyarri said sarcastically, putting Chavi's brushes back in their bag and hanging it on its hook outside the stall.

'That song. It's like I know it, but I don't know I do.'

'It just gave me chills,' Ayden said. 'I don't think I know it.'

'Chills,' Jase agreed. 'That's a good word for it.'

Kyarri pulled a face. 'You two are crazy. It's just a lullaby. Now come on, or we'll be late for lunch.' The boys split off towards the men's baths and she ran up the hill to her room, wondering about the song. Where had she learned it? In her memory, it was sung by a woman, but she was certain that it wasn't from Daine or 'Lanna; Daine always sung her Gallan lullabies and 'Lanna didn't know any lullabies, just soldier's songs and drinking songs, neither of which were appropriate for little girls (which hadn't, of course, stopped her from singing them.)

In the discussion and consideration of the song, she had forgotten about her failed tilting attempts, but when she reached her dressing room and started stripping off her mud-caked clothes, it returned in a cloud of gloom and shame. She sunk into the bath up over her mouth, then closed her eyes and leaned back so that only her nose was out of the water, trying to drown out the embarrassment.

Her afternoon classes were filled with snide comments from the boy pages that were inclined to casual cruelty. She ignored them as best she could, but they still stuck under her skin like barbs. That night she did her class work alone in her room, putting all her mind on it, not leaving any room for shame. For the first time since she had arrived at the palace the year before, she ran out of work and wished for more. Instead, she practised her staff work, but even that couldn't distract her for long.

Eventually, Kyarri gave up on trying to distract herself with any of the things in her room, instead deciding to go for a walk. Inside the palace felt stuffy and she kept running into people, so she went up to the curtain wall. The night air was cool, and standing in it, she realized that she wasn't even a bit sleepy. She walked a bit of the wall, then started running, without her conscious mind realizing that she was doing so. Her breath was even, her mind falling into counts as her feet hit the stone, and all her shame and humiliation fell away into the wind. Kyarri laughed at the joy of speed, feeling as if she could push herself a little harder and she would fly. Slowly, she became aware that she had a companion in her sprint; a flying horse, the size of her hand, was swooping and diving around her head, whickering. She laughed again at the _kudarung_'s antics and poured on more speed. More miniature winged horses came to fly with her, dipping, circling and racing until they filled the air, a batlike wing occasionally brushing her face or arm.

Suddenly an arrow broke the calm, punching through the wing of the first _kudarung_, a beautiful black mare. Kyarri's head jerked up, her steps were faster as she ran towards the direction the shot had come from. The flock raced towards the attacker, who sent more shots in their direction, which they avoided, although one did nick a hoof. 'No!' Kyarri yelled at them. 'Stay away, you'll get killed. NO!' She put all the air in her lungs, all the power and strength of mind she could muster into the call. The _kudarung_ banked then turned, flying back the way they had came, ears flattened back in protest. Kyarri pulled her dagger, searching for the attacker.

It was Emmet, laughing as he watched the tiny _kudarung_ struggle to get up with the huge arrow in its wing. He held a crossbow.

'Why would you do something like that?' Kyarri demanded. 'Why would you hurt something like that, something that beautiful and innocent of evil?'

Emmet shrugged. 'Fun? Besides, I came up here to get you, and a couple of those pests is just an added bonus.

'How dare you!' Kyarri shrieked. All of a second, she realized that there was another bolt knocked in his bow, and he brought the bow up and sighted on her. She leapt out of the way just in time; the arrow came so close to her face that she heard it whistle by.

Angry at herself for not noticing the bolt beforehand and at him for being such a bleeding maniac, Kyarri threw herself at him, knocking him over. Unfortunately, there was a stair behind him, which meant that they just kept falling in a blur of her dark hair and his, her pale fists and his tan ones. Each step hit Kyarri in a different way as they tumbled and slid down. When they finally stopped their mad scramble on a landing halfway down, Kyarri didn't even give Emmet time to take a breath, she just hit and hit. He put a boot in her belly, pushing her off, and caught her in the thigh with the other boot, using his momentum from rolling up as power behind his kick. She grabbed the boot and twisted, dumping him on his front, then took out her dagger again, kneeling on his back. She grabbed his hair in one hand and with the other she held her dagger to his throat.

'You tried to kill me tonight, and you very nearly succeeded.' Kyarri swallowed, remembering how near a miss it had been. 'That's dishonourable, not to mention downright rude. Didn't your ma teach you any better?'

His reply was extraordinarily rude; Kyarri raised an eyebrow, a trick she had learnt from her adoptive father. 'And did your father never teach you to be nice to women?'

'At least I know who my father is,' he snarled. Kyarri's eyebrow went up even farther. 'You know, you really seem to hate me, and I don't think I quite understand _why_,' she said, letting the dagger slip a twitch, making a thin red line along the base of the boy's neck.

Another string of foul curses filled the air. Kyarri sighed. 'Stay away from me, will you? At least for tonight? If you swear on your honour as a noble…no, you don't have any honour. I don't trust you not to break a vow to the gods, when they aren't looking…ah, I know. I'll tie you up.' She took a length of thin, sturdy rope from her belt-purse and bound his wrists and ankles tight, then tied his wrists to his ankles behind him. 'There. It'll be a while until they find you, which gives me time to help that poor _kudarung_. You really are a beast, you know.'

The older boy spat viciously. '_I'm _the beast? Women knights and these immortals and people like you, a girl and a commoner to boot, training as a knight? I'm not the beast; _you_ are. You aren't human. You can't be; no one is that fast, that light on their feet, and no one can be a commoner and a knight. You've messed with their heads, monster, anyone can see that. I don't know if you're a demon or some new immortal, but you have gone too far. Someday, everyone will see what you really are.' Kyarri was already on her way up the stairs again, her face turned away from him so that he couldn't see the doubt on her face. Was he right? She was fast, light, she didn't know who her parents were. Something wasn't real, and she wanted to find out what.

**And there you are. Now, I'm going to go and make pumpkin spice raisin muffins. Yes, I know its August, but they're ridiculously yummy at any time of year. Besides, its only 20˚ Celsius outside, which means that I'm sitting here in shorts and my feet are cold.**

**Have a great day, and remember; We are intrepid. We carry on.  
**


	20. A Bad Start

Kyarri scooped up the kudarung in her hands and ran through the corridors to Daine's rooms, ignoring the looks she got from palace servants and the scholars that shared the hallway. She knocked on the door, then opened it, keeping the tiny winged horse carefully cradled in the other hand, her fingers leaving smears of blood on the door-pull. Daine was at the open window, chatting to some of the local birds, but turned when the door opened. She instantly saw the problem, and took the kudarung from Kyarri.

'Hush. This is difficult for me, more difficult than mortal animals.' She sat down at a table and sunk into meditation.  
Kyarri went over to the young dragon sitting in the window seat and whistled a hello. It had been a few weeks since she had seen Kitten. The dragon turned as the girl sat down next to her, back against the window, and made an inquiry in whistles and clicks. Kyarri answered in the same language, briefly explaining the fight with Emmet and the injured kudarung. Her hair was coming unbraided, and she brushed a lock of it off of her face, not noticing that the left kudarung blood there. Kit whistled a dragon spell and the girl's hair twisting back into the braid of its own accord.

Daine was finishing up at the table, settling the kudarung into a soft nest made out of a shirt pulled from a basket of mending on the table. She wiped her hands on her patched, stained breeches; clearly she'd been around other animals that day.

'Look at you two, thick as thieves like always. Tea?'

'Please.' Kyarri wiped her own hands on her breeches, but inside the pockets so she wouldn't leave a mark. Lord Padraig disapproved of dirty clothes on anyone who wasn't at that moment working.

Kit whistled. Daine laughed. 'Yes, Kit, you can have some too.'

Kyarri went to get the teapot as Daine put on the kettle, but then realized that she had no idea where it was. Daine unearthed in on a shelf full of glass bottles, every shape and filled with every substance imaginable and more colours than Kyarri had ever seen anywhere else. After checking inside to make sure that Numair hadn't been using it for magical experimenting, Daine made tea and poured cups for the three of them. Kit picked hers up in dainty paws and lapped at it like a cat. Kyarri slid off her shoes and crossed her legs underneath her on the sofa. Daine sat at the other end of the sofa, sipping her own tea, one of the palace's many cats curling up next to her.

They talked about Kyarri's page training, about Numair and Daine's work for the crown, about news from Pirate's Swoop and palace gossip. They fell silent after a while, then Kyarri leaned forward abruptly. The cat next to Daine gave her a glaring look that clearly said that, while the girl's presence was tolerated, but was by no means desired, and that moves like that put her on thin ice.

'Daine, who are my parents?'

'We are. Me and Numair and Alanna and George. You know that.'

'You know what I mean. Who gave birth to me?'

Daine smiled, a little sadly. 'I don't know. None of us do.'

'What do you mean? How did I come to you then? Was I abandoned?'

Daine cupped the young girl's face in one hand. 'Oh, sweetling. I can't tell you that. Not yet. Someday. But not now. When you're a bit older, maybe.'

Kyarri pulled back. 'Why?'

'Just...because. Some things are just because.'

'That's a stupid reason. Don't I have a right to know?' She crossed her arms, aware that she was acting like a little kid, and getting angrier at the knowledge.

'Please don't be like this about it,' Daine asked. 'I know you don't like it. I grew up not knowing who my Da was. I get how you feel.'

'Really.' Kyarri was getting sarcastic in an angry, jerk-of-the-head way. 'You get how it feels to be a commoner in page training, being the girl, being different from everyone else, having all these memories that you can't explain and things that you don't know how you know? Do you really know how that feels?' Kyarri slammed her teacup down on the table so hard that the handle broke. 'I'll see myself out.'

Daine looked as though she wanted to say something, but didn't know what. Kyarri left, shutting the door behind her. Through the door, she could hear Kitten scolding Daine in her baby-dragon way.

Kyarri walked fast down the corridor, frustrated and angry. She turned into an empty gallery, full of old animal skeletons and fossils, a reference place for the scholars housed on that floor. She tucked herself into an alcove in the far corner of the empty room, leaning against the wall then sliding down it so that she was sitting, and wrapped her arms around her knees. She felt the anger that made her want to throw something and the kind of sad that sits right in your belly like hunger. It all came out in a flood of hot, angry tears. She hadn't cried through any of it; none of the fights, the frustration, the injuries in weapons practice, the bullying of the other boys, but this was the last straw. None of what she had always thought was true, and her family, the people she'd always been able to trust, were keeping secrets from her, secrets about her. She heard the door creak open and quickly wiped her face on her sleeve, but it was only Kitten. The dragon crept over on all fours and then sat up in front of Kyarri. The girl looked at the dragon in desperation. 'Who am I, Kit?'

Kitten replied in their whistle-click language. It showed to Kyarri as symbols and ideas, but boiled down to something of a meaning in Common. 'I am very very young. You are even younger, but you are also old old old old old.'

'Old?' The girl asked. The dragon nodded her reptilian face and answered with a sound of 'very.' The girl kissed the dragon on the tip of her soft, scaly nose, then sent her back to Daine's rooms, returning to her own, hoping that she would make it before lights-out. Dom was hammering on her door when she returned.

'What's up?'

The boy turned. 'Nothing, really. You weren't there earlier, for study. I thought I'd check on you.'

'I'm fine. I finished my work early. I had someone to go...I had stuff to do.'

Dom looked at his friend's tear-marked face and the damp spot on her sleeve where she had wiped it. 'Are you sure you're all right? You look...' He trailed off as the girl shot him a look.

'I'm fine. Was there anything else you wanted?'

'Uh, yeah. I left one of my books for class in your room yesterday.'

'Right. Yeah, you did.' Kyarri pulled her key out from her shirt, where it hung on a cord around her neck, and unlocked the door. The book was sitting on her desk.

Dom took it. 'Right, thanks. Um, you know, if you ever, y'know, have anything bugging you, not that you do, but if you do, you can, um, talk to me about it.'

'I'm _fine_.' Kyarri put a hand in the middle of her friend's back and shoved him out the door. 'If you get caught in the hallways, you'll get in trouble. Get!'

'See you tomorrow, Kitten.'

Kyarri growled as she shut the door.

The next morning, she awoke to light hitting her eyelids and Raoul-the-Cat standing on her chest. _Up you get._ Kyarri growled and rolled over, muttering about self-important cats. Raoul swatted her ear with a paw. _UP! _The girl sat up, ready to skin the cat, then winced. Between the tumble down the stairs with Emmet and her tilting failure earlier in the day, she was _sore_. She rose and hobbled about the room like an old woman. She let Yukimi in when the maid knocked with her water, and took it into the dressing room. She stripped off her nightgown and whistled softly. She was one big bruise. Yukimi brought her clothes in and tutted and the girl. 'Honestly, milady, what do you get up to?'

'I've told you, just call me Kyarri. And I'm terrible at two big things; tilting, and making people like me. Any page bad at those things is going to end up like this every once in a while.'

'If you say so, Page Kyarri.' The maid left the room.

'I'm going to start calling you "Maid Yukimi" if you don't quit that!' Kyarri called after the older girl, and was rewarded with a chuckle as Yukimi left her rooms.

Kyarri was subdued at breakfast, exhausted by the excitement of the previous day, the late night, and the extra-early morning, courtesy of her soon-to-sold-for-dog-meat cat.

Dom poked her in the shoulder, and Kyarri tried not to wince at the pressure on her bruised skin. 'What's up with you? You've said two words all morning. Where's our usual, obnoxiously chipper Ky?'

'She's still in bed.' Kyarri took the last bite of her porridge, then got up to take her tray to the servers.

Dom caught up with her halfway down the corridor. 'What's going on? You were short with me last night, and you're downright cranky this morning.'

'Nothing.' Kyarri kept walking.

'Is this about those guys yesterday? Because they're idiots and you shouldn't list-'

'I said it's nothing.'

'Is it about the tilting? Because no one can be good at everything, you know. It just wouldn't be good for you. You'd be insufferable if you didn't have some flaw-'

'It's not that.'

'Then what? Because I'm worried, and it's not just me. Jase was just asking me about what was going on too. He says you were snapping at him yesterday afternoon.'

'It's nothing, really. Just, family stuff.'

'Is everyone okay?'

Kyarri sighed. 'Everyone is fine. It's complicated. I don't want to talk about it.'

Dom raised his hands in defeat. 'Fine. I know when I've been told. But if you do want to talk about it, I'm around.' He waited for her to say something, and when she didn't, spoke again. 'Come on. I already have two bells of punishment work this week, and I really don't want to make it three by being late.'

THERE SHOULD BE A WORD THAT MEANS 'PIECE OF FURNITURE'

architects and dilettantes Black History Month


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